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BHA VAN’S BOOK UNIVERSITY

THE HISTORY AND CULTURE

OF THE

INDIAN PEOPLE

ifiJS

BHARATIYA VIDYA BHAVAN

MUMBAI

* Allahabad * Amritsar * Andheri * Aurangabad
Baroda * Belgaum * Bellary * Bharuch * Bharwari

* Bhopal * Bhubaneshwar * Bhusawal * Chandigarh

Agartala * Ahmedabad
Bagalkot * Bangalore *

Bhatpara * Bhimavaram
Chatrapur (Bhatti Mines) * Chennai * Coimbatore * Dakor * Dehradun * Guntur
Guruvayur * Guwahati * Haldia * Hazira * Hosur * Hubli-Dharwad * Hyderabad
Indore * Irinjalakuda * Jabalpur * Jaipur * Jalgaon * Jammu Tawi * Jamnagar
Jodhpur * Kakinada * Kammam * Kanchipuram * Kannur * Kanpur * Khor * Kochi
Kodagu * Kodaikanal * Kodinar * Kodungallur * Kolhapur * Kolkata * Kollam
Korba * Kosamba * Kota * Kottayam * Kozhikode * Kurkunta * Kutch * Lucknow
Machilipatnam * Madurai * Malkhed * Mangalore * Mankapur * Modipuram
Mukundgarh * MUMBAI H.O. * Mysore * Nadiad * Nagercoil * Nagpur * Nasik
Noida * Navi Mumbai * New Delhi * Ottappalam * Palakkad * Panchkula * Patna
Ponnani * Pune * Puthucode * Raipur * Ramachandrapuram * Ramanattukara
Ratangarh * Reddipalayam * Renukoot * Roorkee * Rourkela * Salav * Satna
Secunderabad * Serampore * Shimoga * Siliguri * Suchindram * Surat.
Tadepalligudam * Thaliparamba * Thirunavaya * Thiruvananthapuram * Thrissur
Tirupati * Udipi-Manipal * Ujjain * Valanchery * Varanasi * Visakhapatnam
Wadakkancherry * Wardha * Wayanad : Overseas Centres * London'* New York
Toronto * Mexico City Lisbon * Durban * Sydney * Singapore * Kuwait.

The first volume of this history begins with an
introductory section dealing with certain general
topics bearing upon the history of India as a
whole.

Although dealing with the Vedic age, it gives
the necessary geological, geographical and
biological background before proceeding to the
first stage of human activity in India.

the third section is devoted to a general
consideration of the Indo- Aryans; the fourth deals
with the political history of the period and the
remaining sections, with language and literature,
political and legal institutions, social and
economic conditions, and religion and
philosophy.

In short, this volume covers what may be
regarded as, the dawn of Hindu Civilization.

The contributors to this volume are:

R. C. Majumdar

K. N. Dikshit

D. N. Wadia

G. P. Majumdar

B. K. Chatterjee

H. D. Sankalia

S. K. Chatterjee

A. D. Pusalkar

B. K. Ghosh

V. M. Apte

M. A. Mahendale

Foreword by Dr. K. M. Munshi

aTTRT'W: sfTcTcfr qrg fepgRT:

Le/ noble thoughts come to us from every side

— Rigveda, I-89-i

BHAVAN’S BOOK UNIVERSITY

THE HISTORY AND CULTURE OF THE INDIAN PEOPLE

VOLUME I

THE VEDIC AGE

Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2018 with funding from
Public.Resource.Org

https://archive.org/details/vedicageOObhar

BHAVAN’S BOOK UNIVERSITY

THE HISTORY AND CULTURE
OF THE INDIAN PEOPLE

THE VEDIC

AGE

FOREWORD BY

K. M. MUNSHI

B.A., LL.B., D.LITT. LL.D.

President, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

GENERAL EDITOR

R. C. MAJUMDAR

M.A.,PHD., F.A.S., F.B.B.R.A.S.

Ex. Vice-Chancellor and Professor of History
Dacca University

Hon, Head of the Department of History
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

ASSISTANT EDITORS

A. D. PUSALKER

M.A., LL.,B., PH.D.

Assistant Director and Head of the
Department of Ancient Indian Culture

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

AND

A. K. MAJUMDAR, \i.a., d. phill

Director

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Delhi Kendra

BHARATIYA VIDYA BHAVAN

Kulapati K. M. Munshi Marg
Mumbai - 400007

First Edition : 1951

Second Edition : 1952

Third Edition : 1957

Fourth Edition : 1965

Fifth Edition : 1988

Sixth Edition : 1996

Seventh Edition : 2010

Eight Edition : 2015

Ninth Edition : 2017

Price ? 900/-

PRINTED IN INDIA

byAtul GoradiaatSiddhi Printers, 13/14, Bhabha Building, 1 3th Khetwadi Lane, Mumbai
400004 and Published by P.V.Sankarankutty, Joint Director,
for Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Kulapati K. M. Munshi Marg, Mumbai - 400007.
E-mail: bhavan@bhavans.info Website: http://www.bhavans.info

CONTRIBUTORS

R. C. MAJUMDAR

M.A., PH.D., F.R.A.S.B.

Formerly Vice-Chancellor and Professor of History In the University of Dacca

RAO BAHADUR K. N. DIKSHIT

M.A., F.R.A.S.B.

Formerly Director-General of Archaeology, Government of India

D. N. WADIA

M.A., B.SC., F.O.S., F.R.G.S., FJLA.S.B., F.N.I.

Special Adviser to the Government of India

G. P. MAJUMDAR
m.sc., ph.d. (Leeds)

Professor of Botany tn the Presidency College, Calcutta

B. K. CHATTER J I
M.sc.

Lecturer in Zoology in the Presidency College , Calcutta

H. D. SANKALIA
m.a., ll.b., ph.d. (London)

Professor of History in the Deccan College Post-Graduate and

Research Institute , Poona

S. K. CHATTERJI

M.A., D.L1TT. (LOfldon) F.R.A.S.B.

Khaira Professor of Indian Linguistics and Phonetics
in the University of Calcutta

A. D. PUSALKER

M.A., LLB., PH.D.

Assistant Director and Head of the Department of Sanskrit
Bharatiya Vldya Bhavan

B. K. GHOSH

d.phjl. (Munich), d.litt. (Paris)

Lecturer in Philology In the University of Calcutta

V. M. APTE
m.a., ph.d. (Cantab.)

Professor of Sanskrit in the Karnatak College , Dharwar

M. A. MEHENDALE

M.A., PH.D.

Professor of Sanskrit in S. B. Garda College , Navasarl, Bombay

It$ *

FOREWORD

By Dr. K. M. MUNSHI

In the course of my studies I had long felt the inadequacy of our so-
called Indian histories. For many years, therefore, I was planning
an elaborate history of India in order not only that India’s past
might be described by her sons, but also that the world might catch
a glimpse of her soul as Indians see it. The Bharatiya Vidya Bha-
van, an educational society which I founded in 1938, took over the
scheme. It was, however, realized only in 1944, when my generous
friend Mr. G. D. Birla, one of India’s foremost industrialists, lent me
his co-operation and the support of the Shri Krishnarpan Charity
Trust of which he is the Chairman. As a result, the Bharatiya
Itihasa Samiti, the Academy of Indian History, was formed with
the specific object of preparing this series, now styled The History
and Culture of the Indian People.

The Samiti was lucky in securing the services of Dr. R. C. Ma-
jumdar, formerly Vice-Chancellor of Dacca University and one of
India’s leading historians, as full-time editor, and of Dr. A. D. PusaL
ker, a young and promising scholar, Assistant Director of the Bhara- -
tiya Vidya Bhavan, as assistant editor. A large number of Indian
scholars of repute have lent their co-operation to the scheme. Pro¬
fessor H. G. Rawlinson has been good enough to undertake the task
of revising the MS. Messrs. George Allen and Unwin Ltd. rendered
my work easy by undertaking its first publication in 1951, despite
difficult publishing conditions in England, and have now been good
enough to remit the publication rights to the Bhavan. To all of
them I owe a deep debt of gratitude which f hasten to acknowledge.

The General Editor in his introduction has given the point of
view of the scientific historian, to which category the contributors
belong. My own work for the past thirty-five years has lain in the
humbler sphere of weaving historical romances afid literary and cul¬
tural studies out of materials so heroically salvaged by Indian and
European scholars. As a result I have seen and felt the form, Con¬
tinuity and meaning of India’s past.1 History, as I see it, is being’
consciously lived by Indians. Attempts to complete what has hap¬
pened in the past form no small part of our modern struggle; there
is a conscious as well as an unconscious attempt to carry life to per¬
fection, to join the fragments of existence, and to discover the mean¬
ing of the visions which they reveal. It is not enough, therefore,
to conserve, record and understand what has happened: it is neces¬
sary also to assess the nature and direction of the momentous forces
working through the life of India in order to appreciate the fulfil¬
ment which they seek.

THE VEDIC AGE

Some years ago, therefore, I defined the scope of history as
follows: 4 ‘To be a history in the true sense of the word, the work
must be the story of the people inhabiting a country. It must be a
record of their life from age to age presented through the life and
achievements of men whose exploits become the beacon lights of
tradition; through the characteristic reaction of the people to physi¬
cal and economic conditions; through political changes and vicissi¬
tudes which create the forces and conditions which operate upon life;
through characteristic social institutions, beliefs and forms; through
literary and artistic achievements; through the movements of
thought which from time to time helped or hindered the growth of
collective harmony; through those values which the people have
accepted or reacted to and which created or shaped their collective
will; through efforts of the people to will themselves* into an organic
unity. The central purpose of a history must, therefore, be to in¬
vestigate and unfold the values which age after age have inspired
the inhabitants of a country to develop their collective will and to
express it through the manifold activities of their life. Such a
history of India is still to be written.” .

I know the difficulties which beset the path of any enterprise
which seeks to write such a history. In the past Indians laid little
store by history. Our available sources of information are inade¬
quate, and in so far as they are foreign, are almost invariably taint¬
ed with a bias towards India’s conquerors. Research is meagre and
disconnected.

Itihdsa, or legends of the gods, and Purdna, legends of origin,
had different spheres in the ancient literary tradition of India. But
later., both came to mean the same thing, traditional history. The
Kali Yuga, the current Iron Age, was considered too degenerate a
period to deserve recording. The past was only cherished as the
pattern for the present and the future. Works by ancient Indian
authors which throw light on history are few. Religious and lite¬
rary sources like the Purdnas and the Kdvyas have not yet fully
yielded up their chronological or historical wealth. Epigraphic re¬
cords, though valuable, leave many periods unrelated.

' Foreign travellers from other countries of Asia and from
Eurdpe, like Megasthenes of Greece, Hiuen Tsang of China, Al-
Masudi of Arabia, Manucci of Venice, and Bernier from France,
have left valuable glimpses of India, but they are the results of
superficial observation, though their value in reconstructing the
past is immense. Chroniclers in the courts of the Turk, Afghan or
the Mughal rulers wrote “histories” which, in spite of the wealth
of historical material, are partially legendary and partially lauda¬
tory. The attempts of British scholars, with the exception of Tod,
wherever they have taken these “histories” as reliable source-books,

FOREWORD

have hindered rather than helped the study of Indian history. Sir H.
M. Elliot, the foremost of such scholars, for instance, has translated
extracts from Persian and Arabic “histories” with a political objec¬
tive, viz. to make, to use his own words, “the native subjects of
British India more sensible of the immense advantages accruing to

them under the mildness and equity of the present rule . ” So

high an authority as Dr. Maulana Nadvi, in his Presidential Address
at the “Early Medieval India” Section of the Seventh Session of the
Indian History Congress, expressed the verdict of modern scholars,
that both the selection and translation of these extracts have not
been honest. But unfortunately, Elliot’s volumes became the
source-book for most of our modern histories of Medieval India,
As a result, they do not present a true picture of India’s past, nor
do they explain how Indians resisted the Turk, Afghan and Mughal
incursions, how they reacted to the vicissitudes through which in
consequence they passed, and how a Renaissance sprang up out of
the impact of Indian with Persian and Turkish cultures.

The treatment of the British period in most of our histories is
equally defective. It generally reads like an unofficial report of
the British conquest and of the benefits derived by India from it.
It does not give us the real India; nor does it present a picture of
what we saw, felt and suffered, of how we reacted to foreign influ¬
ences, or of the values and organizations we created out of the im¬
pact with the West.

The history of India, as dealt with in most of the works of this
kind, naturally, therefore, lacks historical perspective. Unfortu¬
nately for us, during the last two hundred years we had not only to
study such histories but unconsciously to mould our whole outlook
on life upon them.' Few people realize that, the teaching of such
histories in our schools and universities has substantially added to
the difficulties which India has had to face during the last hundred
years, and never more than during recent years.

Generation after generation, during their school or college
career, were told about the successive foreign invasions of the
country, but little about how we resisted them and less about our
victories. They were taught to decry' the Hindu social system; but
they were not told how this system came into existence as a synthesis
of political, social, economic and cultural forces; how it developed in
the people the tenacity to survive catastrophic changes for millennia;
how it protected life and culture in times of difficulty by its conser¬
vative strength and in favourable times developed an elasticity which
made ordered progress possible; and how its vitality enabled the
national culture to adjust its central ideas to new conditions.

Readers were regaled with Alexander’s short-lived and unfruc-
tuous invasion of India; they were left in ignorance of the magni-

THE VEDIC AGE

iicent empire and still more enduring culture which the Gangetic
Valley had built up at the time. Lurid details of intrigues in the
palaces of the Sultans of Delhi — often a camp of bloodthirsty inva¬
ders — are given, but little light is thrown on the exploits of the race
of heroes and heroines who for centuries resisted the Central Asiatic
barbarians when they flung themselves on this land in successive
waves. Gruesome stories of Muslim atrocities are narrated, but the
harmony which was evolved in social and economic life between the
two communities remains unnoticed. The Mutiny of 1857 — the Bri¬
tish name for the Great National Revolt— -gave the readers a glimpse
of how the brave foreigner crushed India; it is only outside the
so-called historical studies that the reader found how at the time
patriotic men of all communities in most parts of India rallied
round the last Mughal Emperor of Delhi, the national symbol, to
drive out the hated foreigner.

The multiplicity of our languages and communities is widely
advertised, but little emphasis is laid on certain facts which make
India what she is. Throughout the last two millennia, there was
linguistic unity Some sort of a lingua franca was used by a very
large part of the country; and Sanskrit, for a thousand years the
language of royal courts and at all times the language of culture,
was predominant, influencing life, language, and literature in most
provinces. For over three thousand years, social and family life
had been moulded or influenced by the Dharma-Sdstra texts, con¬
taining a comprehensive code of personal law, which, though adapt¬
ed from time to time to suit every age and province, provided a
continuous unifying social force. Aryan, or rather Hindu culture
(for there was considerable Dravidian influence) drew its inspira¬
tion in every successive generation from Sanskrit works on religion,
philosophy, ritual, law and science, and particularly the two epics,
the Mahubharata and Rdmdyana, and the Bhagavata, underwent
recensions from time to time, and became the one irresistible
creative force which has shaped the collective spirit of the people.
Age after age the best of Indians, from the mythical Vasishtha to
the. modem Gandhlji, found self-fulfilment in living up to an ideal
of conduct in accordance with a code of life which may be traced
back as far as the Upanishads.

The# British conquest and the benefits of British rule are gene¬
rally described in histories in “Rudyard Kipling” style. The im¬
pact of western culture, however, came in the wake of the British
connection. In our histories we completely lose sight of how this
impact awoke the sleeping giant to a consciousness of its ancient
strength and modern possibilities; how under the influence of
European ideas and British democratic traditions, the Collective
Spirit, without losing its grip over the essentials of its culture,
adjusted itself to modern conditions, creating new intellectual

FOREWORD

and artistic movements and making the democratic traditions of
Great Britain its own; how, under the European concept of nationa¬
lism Arya-Dharma (Indian Culture) slowly broadened out into a
powerful neo-nationalism seeking a secular democratic state, Indian
in conception and technique.

The older school of historians believed that imperialism of the
militaristic political type was unfamiliar to this “mystic land.” But
the Aryan conquest of India, which forms the subject matter of Vol.
I of this series, was as much militaristic-political as religious and
•cultural. If instead of treating by dynasties, stress is laid on the
rise and fall of Imperial power, Magadhan sovereignty and Sata-
vahana imperialism from .600 B.C. to A.D. 320 (Vol. II) were, for
the age, outstanding phenomena. If the territory involved, the
population affected, and the heroism and power of organization
displayed and the cultural activities pursued are taken into account,
the Classical- Age, A.D. 320-750 (Vol. Ill), which saw the empire of
the Guptas and of Sri Harsha, was one of the culminating points in
history. The age between A.D. 750-1000 (Vol. IV) saw the empire
of the Pratih aras, the Rashtrakutas and the Palas. Between A.D.
1000 and 1300 (Vol. V), the Paramlaras and the Cholas founded em¬
pires; different states struggled for imperial power; the barbarian in¬
roads from Central Asia rendered all indigenous efforts at consoli¬
dation unfruitful.

The rise of the Turkish Power under Ala-ud-din Khiljl found¬
ed a new and powerful imperialism, the Sultanate of Delhi, which
lasted from 1300 to 1526 (Vol. VI). From A.D. 1526-1707 the
Mughals held sway at Delhi (Vol. VII) when the world witnessed
one of the most magnificent empires of all time. The Maratha
supremacy, which lasted from 1707-1818 (Vo\. VIII), brought about
the downfall of the Mughal Empire, but before it could consolidate
its power, the British stepped in. British domination from 1818-1947
(Vols. IX and X) was a period of complete subjection; but it saw the
national resurgence which, on August 15, 1947, under Mahatma
Gandhi, secured freedom by non-violent means. It also saw the
birth of a Renaissance which gave fresh vitality to all that India
stood for in history. These militaristic-political movements in India
were in no wise less vigorous or worldly than similar movements in
other parts of the world in the corresponding age. To say that the
country was lost in contemplation all the time would be to ignore
the salient facts of history.

The role of alien invasions in the history of India, hitherto exag¬
gerated, deserves to be reduced to its appropriate proportions. India,
like most other countries, has had its foreign incursions, which, like
Mahmud of Ghazni’s raids between A.D. 999 and 1024, glittering
episodes from the raiders’ point of view, were at best only shaping

THE VEDIC AGE

influences. Of foreign conquests, which changed the coytrse of
history and the texture of life and culture, there were only three.
First, the Aryan conquests in pre-historic times, which wove the
essential pattern of national life and culture. Second, the Turko-
Afghan conquests, which introduced Islamic influence into India
and added new colours to the pattern of life. These conquests,
however, soon lost their character of foreign military occupation,
for the conquerors threw in their lot with the country and produc¬
ed some of its best rulers and its most powerful political organiza¬
tions. This so-called Muslim period, scientifically the Turko-Mu-
ghal period, dominated the country for about four centuries rough¬
ly from A.D. 1300 to 1700. Third, the British occupation from
1818-1947, perhaps the only period of foreign rule in the sense that
the country was governed essentially by foreigners from a foreign
country and in foreign interests. It brought in its wake contact
with Europe, a new awakening and a new cultural synthesis.

But during all this period the vitality of the race and culture,
altered from time to time in direction and objective, expressed itself
with unabated vigour in resistance movements, military, political,
and cultural. The History of India is not the story of how she un¬
derwent foreign invasions, but how she resisted them and eventual¬
ly triumphed over them. Traditions of modern historical research
founded by British scholars of repute were unfortunately coloured
by their attitude towards ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, which
have a dead past and are, in a sense, museum exhibits. A post¬
mortem examination of Indian past would be scientifically inaccu¬
rate; for every period of Indian History is no more than an expres¬
sion in a limited period of all the life forces and dominant ideas
created and preserved by the national culture, which are rushing
forward at every moment through time. The modern historian of
India must approach her as a living entjty with a central continuous
urge, of which the apparent life is a mere expression. Without
such an outlook it is impossible to understand India, which, though
a part of it has seceded in search of an independent existence,
stands today three hundred and fifty million strong, with a new
apparatus of state, determined not to be untrue to its ancient self,
and yet to be equal to the highest demands of modern life.

CONTENTS

Page

Foreword by K. M • Munshi 7

Preface by R. C. Majumdar 23

Abbreviations 31

BOOK I. INTRODUCTION

I. Indian History, its nature, scope and method 37

by R. C. Majumdar , m.a., ph.d., f.r.a.s.b.

Formerly Vice-Chancellor and Professor of History
in the University of Dacca

II. Sources of Indian History 47

by R. C. Majumdar ,

1. Ancient Period- A — Literary Sources. B —
Archaeology (I. Inscriptions. II. Numismatics-

III. Monuments). C— Foreign Accounts (Greek
Writers. Chinese Travellers. Arab Writers)

2. Mediaeval Period

3. Modern Period

III. Archaeological Explorations and excavations . 66

by the late Rao Bahadur K. N. Dikshit, m.a., f.r.a.s.b.

Formerly Director General of Archaeology, Govern¬
ment of India.

Decipherment of the Brahml Script. Begin¬
nings of Archaeological Survey. Establishment of
Archaeological Department. Regular and Syste¬
matic Excavations (Mohenjo-daro, Punjab and
N.W.F.P., Kashmir, United Provinces, Bengal)
Prehistoric remains in Gujarat (Bombay, Mysore,
Madras). Explorations in Greater India

IV. The Geological Background of Indian History 80

by D, N. Wadia, m.a., b.sc., f.g.s., f. r.g.s., f.r.a.s.b., f.n.i.
Special Adviser to the Government -of India

1 . The Setting of the Stage for Early Man in India

2. The Indo-Gangetic Alluvium of the Plains of
North India

3 . Human cave-dwellers of India: Their animal
contemporaries

4 . Laterite cap of the Peninsula and Soil Deposits

5. Changes in the River Systems of North India
during the human epoch

6. The Great Prehistoric River of Northern India

7. The Deserts of Western India: The Rann of
Cutch

8. The meteorological influence of the Himalaya
Mountains

Earthquakes and Volcanoes

THE VEDIC AGE

10. Late earth-movements and local Alterations of
level

V. The Geographical Background of Indian History
by R. C. Majumdar

1 . Physical Features (I. The great mountain wall.

II. The Plain of Hindustan. III. The Plateau:
A — The Deccan Plateau, B — The Coastal
Region, C — The Central Indian Plateau).

2. Influence of Geography upon History. Division
into several political and cultural units. India,
a distinct geographical unit. Effect of physical
features. Indian Colonization. Effect of climate

VI. Flora and Fauna
Part I. The Flora

by G- P. Majumdar , m.sc., ph.d. (leeds)

Professor of Botany in the Presidency College, Cal¬
cutta

1. Forest Vegetation; its types

2. Freshwater Vegetation *

3 . Cultivated Vegetation

Part II. The Fauna
by B. K. Chatterji, m.sc.

Lecturer in Zoology in the Presidency College, Cal¬
cutta

1. The Vertebrates. Mammals. Birds. Reptiles.
Batrachians. Fishes. Lower Chordates

2. The Invertebrates. Molluscs. Arthropods. Echi-
noderms

BOOK II. THE PREHISTORIC AGE

VII. Palaeolithic, Neolithic And Copper Ages
by H. D. Sankalia, m.a., ll.b., ph.d, (London)

Professor of History in the Deccan College Post-
Graduate and Research Institute, Poona.

1 . Palaeolithic Age (I. First Inter-Glacial Age. II.
Second Inter-Glacial Age and Early Soan In¬
dustry. III. Third Ice Age and Late Soan In¬
dustry. IV. Third Inter-Glacial Age; Chauntra
Industry. V- Fourth Ice Age Tools).

2 . Mesolithic Age.

3 . Neolithic Age.

4. Copper and Bronze Age.

5 . Iron Age

VIII. Race-Movements and Prehistoric Culture

by S. K. Chatterji , m.a., d.litt. (London), f.r.a.s.b.

Khaira Professor of Indian Linguistics and Phone¬
tics in the University of Calcutta.

CONTENTS

Page

Six main races with sub-types. Evolution of Com¬
mon Indian Culture. Contribution of (a) the Neg¬
roid or Negrito, (b) the Proto-Australoids, (c) Dra-
vidian-speakers. Synthesis of the Aryan and non-
Aryan Culture.

IX. The Indus Valley Civilization 172

by A . D. Pusalker, m.a., ll.b., ph.d.

Assistant Director and Head of the Department of
Sanskrit, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

1. The Town (Buildings. Drainage- The Great
Bath) .

2. Social and Economic Life (Food. Animals-
Dress. Ornaments. Toilet Articles. Household
Utensils. Games. Conveyance. Weight and
Linear Measures. Medicine. Weapons, Tools,
and Implements. Trade and Commerce. Classes
of People).

3. Arts, Crafts, and Industries (Figures. Seal-
engravings. Statues. Spinning and Weaving.
Pottery. Seals- Precious Stones and Metals.

Shell, Ivory, and Faience).

4. Religion (Mother Goddess. Siva. Animal Wor¬
ship. Worship of Tree, Fire, and Water)

5 . Funerary Customs

6. The Indus Script

7 . The Antiquity of the Culture

8 . Authors of the Indus Civilization

9. Extent, Connections, and Survivals of the Indus
Civilization

BOOK III THE ARYANS IN INDIA

X. The Aryan Problem 205

by B. K. Ghosh, d.phll., (Munich), d.litt. (Paris)

Lecturer in Philology in the University of Calcutta

Original home of the Indo-Europeans. Earliest trace
of the Indo-Iranians. Lithuanian, the most archaic
of Indo-European Languages. No case for original
home in Europe. Scandinavia not the original
home. Tripolje culture. Brandenstein’s theory of
the Original Home. Relation between Indo-Euro¬
pean and non-Indo-European languages
Appendix — India, the original home of the Aryans
by S. Srikanta Sastri , Professor Maharaja’s College,
Mysore

XI. Indo-Iranian Relations 222

by B • K. Ghosh

Cleavage between the Aryans of India and Iran.
Antagonism between the Worshippers of Daiva-
gods and Asura-gods. Reforms of Zarathustra. Pre-

THE VEDIC AGE

Page

Zarathustra Iranian Culture essentially the Same as
Vedic

XII. Vedic Literature — General View 229

by B. K. Ghosh

1. The Saihhitas (I. Rigveda. II. Samaveda. III-

Yajurveda. IV. Atharvaveda).

2. The Brahmanas

3 . The Srauta-sutras

XIII. Aryan Settlements in India 245

by A. D. Pusalker

1 . Geographical Names in the Ttf gveda

2. The Tribes in the Higveda

3. The Period of the Later Samhitas, Brahmanas,
Upanishads and Sutras (I. Geographical
Names. II. The Tribes)

BOOK IV. HISTORICAL TRADITIONS

XIV. Traditional History from the Earliest Time to the

Accession of Parlkshit 271

by A. D. Pusalker

1 . Sources of Information

2 . Chronological Scheme of Traditional History
according to the Puranas

3. Pre-Flood Traditions and Dawn of History

4. Flood and Manu Vaivasvata c. 3100 B.C.

5. Yayati Period (c. 3000-2750 B.C.) (L The
Lunar Dynasty. II. The Solar Dynasty. III. Brah¬
mana Families)

6. Mandhatri Period (c. 2750-2550 B.C.) (I- The
Solar Dynasty. II. The Lunar Dynasty)

7. Parasurama Period (c. 2550-2350 B.C.) (I. The
Bhrigus. II- The Haihayas. III. Other Lunar
Dynasties. IV. The Solar Dynasty; V. Brahmana
Families)

8. Ramachandra Period (c. 2350-1950 B C.) (I. The
Solar Dynasty. II- The Lunar Dynasty. III.
Brahmana Families)

9. Krishna Period (c. 1950-1400 B.C.) (F. The
Panchalas. II. The Pauravas III. The Yadavas.

IV. The Eastern Anavas, V. The Solar Dynasty)

10. The Bharata War (c. 1400 B.C ) (I. The Kaura-
vas and Pantfavas. II. The Bharata War)

11. Comparative Value of the Vedas and the Pura¬
nas as Sources of Traditional History

12. The Expansion of the Aryans and Aryan Cul¬
ture

Appendix I : Development of different dy¬
nasties

Appendix II : Genealogical Tables

CONTENTS

Page

XV. Traditional History from the Accession of.Parlkshit

to the end of the Barhadratha Dynasty 323

by A. D . Pusalkcr

1. The Pauravas

2. The Kosalas

3 . Magadha

4. Other Kingdoms

BOOK V. THE AGE OF THE RIK-SAMHITA

XVI. Language and Literature 337

by B. K. Ghosh

1 . Language (Not homogeneous. Artificial. Re¬
handling of original texts. The Verbal system-
Tenth Mannjala distinctly later)

2. Literature (Yaska’s classification of Vedic
hymns not quite satisfactory. Hymn to Ushas.

Spirit of the hymns. Hymn to Parjanya. Mar¬
tial hymns. Dialogue-hymns. Frog-hymn-
Danastuti. Apri-hymns. Funeral-hjmns. Philo¬
sophical hymns)

XVII. Political and Legal Institutions 355

by V. M. Apte, m.a., ph.d. (cantab)

Professor of Sanskrit in the Karnatak College,
Dharwar

1 . Political Institutions (Monarchy. Sabhd and
Samiti . Purohita)

2. Administrative. Organization (Grama)

3. Law and Legal Institutions (Individual owner¬
ship of Land)

XVIII. Religion and Philosophy 363

by V. M. Apte

1 . Mythology (I. Origin. II- The Nature and Classi¬
fication of Gods. III. The Celestial Gods- IV. The
Atmospheric Gods. V- The Terrestrial Gods)

2 . Sacrifice

3 . Philosophy

4. Ethical and Spiritual Thought

XIX. Social and Economic Conditions 387

by V . M. Apte

1 . Social Condition (I. Family Lifei II. The Caste
System. Ill- Marriage and the Position of
Women. IV. Education. V. Amusements and
Entertainments. VI. Food and Drink- VII. Dress
and Decoration. VIII. Knowledge of Medicine
and Sanitation)

2. Economic Condition (I. Agriculture and Cattle.

II. Trade and Commerce. III. Occupations and
Industries. IV. House-building and Means of
Transport, etc.)

THE VEDIC AGE

Page

BOOK VI. THE AGE OF THE LATER SAMHITAS

XX. Language and Literature 407

by B. K . Ghosh (Section 4 by V- M. Apte)

1. The Language of the Samhitas (I. Samaveda-
II. Yajurveda. III. Atharvaveda)

2 . The Samhita Literature (I. Atharvaveda, Arro¬
gance of the Brahmanas, Coronation hymn,
Bhumi-sukta, the National Anthem of Vedic
India, Magic and Charms, Hymn to Vanina-
II. Yajurveda)

3. The Brahmanas (I. Language. II. Literature)

4. The Aranyakas

XXI. Political and Legal Institutions 429

by V . M. Apte

1. Political Theory (Origin of Kingship. Growth
oi royal power- Sabha and Samiti)

2. Administrative Organization (Royal Officials.
Taxation)

3. Law and Legal Institutions (Evidence. Crimi¬
nal law. Civil law. Civil procedure- Owner¬
ship of Land)

XXII. Religion and Philosophy 442

by V. M. Apte

1 . Atharvaveda (Magic Formulae. Philosophical
hymns)

2. The Skmaveda and the Yajurveda Samhitas
and the Brahmanas (Grand Sacrifices- Groups
of priests. The Gods. Ethical Ideas- The con¬
ception of Heaven and Hell. The Circuit of
Birth and Death)

3 . The Aranyakas

XXIII. Social and Economic Conditions 453

by V. M. Apte

1. Social Condition (I. Family Life. II- The Caste
System. III. Marriage and the Position of
Women. IV. Education. V. Amusements and
Entertainments. VI. Food and Drink. VII.

Dress and Decoration. VIII. Knowledge of
Medicine)

2. Economic Condition (I. Agriculture and Cattle.

II. Trade and Commerce. III. Occupations and
Industries. IV- House-Building and Means of
Transport)

BOOK VII. THE AGE OF THE UPA NISH ADS AND SUTRAS

XXIV. Language and Literature 471

by M- A. Mehendale m.a., ph.i>.

Professor of Sanskrit in S. B. Garda College. Nava-
sari, Bombay

CONTENTS

Page

1 . The Upanishads (Chronological classification.
Composed mainly by the Kshatriyas. Prin¬
cipal teachings. The doctrines of Atman and
Brahman. Transmigration)

2. The Sutras (I. Siksha. II. Kalpa. Srauta-sutra.
Grihya-sutra. Dharma-sutra. Sulva-sutra. Date
of the Kalpa-sutra. texts. III. Vyakaraija.

IV. Nirukta. V. Chhandas. VI. Jyotisha)

3. Language (I- The Upanishads. II. The Sutras)

XXV. Political and Legal Institutions 487

by V. M. Apte

1 . Political Theory (Principle of Dharma. Life
and duty of king. Position of the Brahmana in
the State. Parishad)

2. Administrative Organization (Taxation. Vil¬
lage)

3. Law and Legal Institutions (Beginnings of
Civil and Criminal Law. Judicial tribunals.
Punishments. Rules of Inheritance. Title to
Property. Rate of Interest)

XXVI. Religion and Philosophy 498

by V. M. Apte

1 . The Upanishads (Protest against ritual.
Identity of Brahman and Atman. Prana. The
transmigration of the soul. Ethical concepts.
Fundamental doctrines)

2. The Sutras (The Srauta sacrifices. The Grihya
ritual. Meaning and nature of sacrifice. Diffe¬
rent classes of priests. Magic and ritual^. Ethi¬
cal concepts)

XXVII. Social and Economic Conditions 512

by V. M. Apte

1. Social Condition (I. Family Life. II. The Caste
System. III. Marriage and the Position of
Women. IV. Education. V. Manners and Morals,

Habits and Customs. VI. Amusements and
Entertainments. VII. Food and Drink. VIII.

Dress and Decoration. IX. Health and Hygiene)

2. Economic Condition (I. Agriculture and
Cattle. II. Trade and Commerce, Arts and In¬
dustries. Ill- House-building and Means of
Transport)

Bibliographies

533

Appendix

549

Index

554

. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

between pages 176 and 177

PLATE

I. Corbelled Drain, Mohenjo-daro

II. Great Bath, Mohenjo-daro

III. Jewellery — Necklaces, Mohenjo-daro

IV. Personal Ornaments, Mohenjo-daro

V. Arts and Crafts, Mohenjo-daro

VI. Statuary, Harappa and Mohenjo-daro

VII . Seals, Mohenjo-daro

VIII. fl) Fractional Burial, Mohenjo-daro
(2) Model Animal, Mohenjo-daro

MAPS AND PLANS

1 . Map of India, showing types of Forest Vegetation
and Botanical Regions of India page

2. Prehistoric and Vedic India page

. <£

PREFACE

by R. C. Majumdar, M.A.. PH.D., F.R.A.S.B.

The genesis of this work and its scope and nature have been
explained in the Foreword. But it is necessary to add a few words
about its general planning. After having decided that the work
would consist of ten volumes of approximately five hundred pages
each, it was not an easy task to distribute the subject-matter among
them on a basis which would be both equitable and rational- It
has been hitherto customary to divide Indian history into the Hindu,
Muslim and British periods, and assign equal space to each. The
Cambridge History of India has set its seal of approval/ upon this
plan, which has also been adopted by the Indian History Congress
for its projected history of India. But it can hardly be regarded
as equitable. Looking at the matter from a broad standpoint, it
would be difficult to maintain that the 4,000 years of pre-Muslim
India, of the history and culture of which we posses a definite know¬
ledge, though in brief outline, should rank in importance as equal
with that of the Muslim period of about 400 or 500 years, or the
British period of less than 200 years. It is true that we possess
more historical material for the later ages, but if we are to judge
by that standard alone, the British period should have twice or thrice
the number of volumes assigned to the Musliih period. After all,
the contribution of different ages to the evolution of national history
and culture should be the main criterion of their relative importance,
though the space devoted to each should also be largely determined
by the amount of historical material available- There is, no doubt,
a dearth of material for the political history of ancient India, but this
is to a large extent made up for by the corresponding abundance
for the cultural side. Taking everything into consideration we
have modified the hitherto -accepted plan, and have allotted nearly
half of the entire work to the Hindu period.

Some difference will also be noticed in our conception of the
beginning and end of the Muslim period. It is usual to regard the
accession of Qutb-ud-din to the throne of Delhi in A.D- 1206 as the
commencement of this period, and some historians even include
within it the period of Ghazni vite supremacy in the Punjab two
centuries earlier. It should be remembered, however, that the
major part of India remained under Hindu rule almost throughout
the thirteenth century A.D. and the same was also largely true of
the century following the death of Aurangzeb. To include these
two centuries under the Muslim period can therefore be hardly re¬
garded as historically accurate.

These difficulties can best be overcome by avoiding altogether

THE VEDIC AGE

the terms Hindu and Muslim. As a matter of fact, one may rightly
question the reasonableness of designating historical periods by the
religious denomination of the ruling dynasties* In that case, in
order to be consistent, we should style the third period of Indian his¬
tory Christian rather than British. This is sufficient to demonstrate
the absurdity of the present system of nomenclature, deep-rooted
though it has become. We have accordingly divided Indian history
into three chronological periods— Ancient, Mediaeval, and Modern —
which are generally adopted for the history of Europe.

In the case Of Europe, the overthrow of the Western Homan
Empire by the irruption of barbarian hordes, which brought about
the disappearance of classical learning, is taken to be the dividing
line between Ancient and Mediaeval periods. In the case of India,
there is no general agreement on this subject, but the onslaught of
Islam, accompanied by a marked decadence of culture and the dis¬
appearance of the creative spirit in art and literature, seems to mark
A.D. 1000 as the beginning of the Mediaeval Age.

The decline of the Mughal Empire and the growing power of the
European nations in Indian politics may be reasonably regarded as
marking the end of one and the beginning of another epoch in
Indian history, and hence the eighteenth century has been taken
as the commencement of the Modem Period. In Europe the Modern
Period dates from the overthrow of the Eastern Roman Empire
and the subversion of the age of faith and tradition by the awaken¬
ing of humanism through the agency of the revival of classical
learning. On this analogy one might be inclined to include the
eighteenth century within the Mediaeval rather than the Modern
period. But the political considerations referred to above, especially
the establishment of the British power on a solid basis, are strong
arguments in favour of dating the beginning of the Modern Period
from the eighteenth century rather than the nineteenth.

For reasons given above, neither the thirteenth nor the eigh¬
teenth century A.D* has been included within what is usually des¬
cribed as the Muslim Period. The first is taken as a part of a long
period of protracted struggle for political supremacy, both between
the Indians and foreign invaders and among the Indians themselves,
which ultimately ended in the next century in favour of the Khiljls.
So far as the eighteenth century is concerned there is no doubt that
the Mara{has were the leading political power in India. These two
volumes have been styled accordingly.

So far by way of explanation of the general division into three
broad periods — Ancient, Mediaeval, and Modern — and the titles
given to Volumes V and VIII, which mark a great departure from
current practice- It must be remembered,^ however, that while
specific dates had to be assigned to each volume for the sake of pre-

PREFACE

cision and accuracy, they should not be strictly equated with the
title given to it. The period of Maratha supremacy, for example,
cannot be said to cover exactly the years A.D. 1707 to 1818, but
nevertheless these have been taken to be the limiting dates of
Volume VIII, which bears that title, because they mark definite
events of great importance connected with the central theme, viz.
the death of Aurangzeb which facilitated the growth of Maratha
power, and the Third Maratha War which put an end to the Maratha

supremacy.

The same is more or less true of the other volumes and the
justification for the titles and dates will be discussed in the preface
of each. For the present we may confine our attention to the pre¬
sent volume. Although it is entitled the Vedic Age it begins from
the dawn of human activity in India, so far as it is known to us.
Being the first volume of the series, it contains an introductory
section dealing with certain general topics bearing upon the history
of India as a whole. As there are some special characteristics which
distinguish Indian history from that of other countries, it has been
thought desirable to explain at the very outset its meaning and
methods of approach as well as the nature of the material from which
it has been reconstructed. The first three chapters have been de¬
voted to this subject. The next three deal with the background of
Indian history, geological, geographical and biological. “ These chap¬
ters, particularly the first and third, may appear too technical for
the historical student, and some may even regard them as too ela¬
borate for a treatise on history at all. But a knowledge of these
topics is essential for a proper understanding of the evolution of
Indian culture, and being written by acknowledged experts, these
two chapters, it may be hoped, will place at the disposal of the
reader adequate information on difficult but relevant subjects,
which it would not be possible for them to acquire except by the
patient study of bulky volumes of a highly technical nature, which

few would be disposed to undertake.

The next section, which may be regarded as the beginning of
history proper, deals with the period before the Vedic Aryans settled
in this country. This, however, involves certain assumptions which
are not unanimously accepted- Some scholars hold the view that
India was the original home of these Aryans, and that there cannot
be any question of their immigration into this country. Some have
referred the Aryans to such hoary antiquity — tens of thousands of
years ago according to more than one theory— that there can be no
question of any historical period prior to them.

Similarly there is a divergence of opinion regarding the question
whether the Indus valley civilization was pre-Aryan or post-Vedic.
In the present state of our knowledge no dogmatic answer can be

THE VEDIC AGE

given to these questions, and there is no theory that is likely to
meet with general acceptance. Even our own contributors do not
agree on these points. Dr. Pusalker, who has written on the Indus
Valley Civilization, is inclined to regard it as not fundamentally
different from the Aryan, and possibly posterior to Rigvedic culture,
while Dr. B. K. Ghosh and Dr. S. K. Chatterji, who have written
on the Aryan and pre-Aryan peoples, take the opposite view. Such
differences are inevitable in a co-operative undertaking of this
kind. It has not been thought advisable to suppress these individual
view-points, but cross-references have been given in order to impress
upon the readers that such questions do admit of different answers
and to enable them to judge for themselves the cogency of the
arguments on which different theories are based.

It has been the constant attempt of the Editor, by free and frank
discussions, to reconcile the different points of view as far as practi¬
cable, and where complete agreement was unattainable, to have them
presented in a manner which would convey the impression that they
are not dogmatic assertions of contradictory views, but alternative
solutions, each equally valid, of the problem concerned. Beyond
that the Editor did not choose to go, by way of forcing a definite
solution of an admittedly controversial problem. It has been thought
better to risk even a seeming inconsistency among the different parts
of the book rather than convey a false idea of a general agreement
of views where no such unanimity really exists, or is possible under
the present circumstances.

The third section is devoted to a general consideration of the
Indo- Aryans. It begins with a detailed discussion of the chief
problems concerning them, viz. their original home, the date and
route of their immigration into India, the antiquity of their chief
literary production, the Rigveda, and their relations with the Ira¬
nians with whom they must have lived in close and intimate contact
long after their separation from the other branches of the Indo-
European family. These are some of the most intriguing problems
on which opinions differ widely, and an attempt has been made to
present the different viewpoints, with emphasis on the one which
appears to be most reasonable in the light of the evidence available
to 11S4 Although few scholars today believe India to be the original
home of the Aryans, this theory has naturally a sentimental appeal
to Indians, and has therefore been discussed in some detail in an
Appendix to Chapter X.

The fourth section deals with the political history of the period.
It has been customary hitherto to rely for such knowledge only on
the few scattered historical notices contained in the Rigveda . Par-
giter’s attempt to reconstruct a continuous historical narrative from
the data, particularly the royal genealogies, contained in the Pura-
ijas and the Epics, has been systematically ignored in historical

PREFACE

works, even in the comprehensive Cambridge History of India • But,
in spite of obvious shortcomings, Pargiter’s theories cannot be
altogether discarded even on their merits, and the fact remains that
they offer the only fair basis on which the ancient political history
of India can be built up. So instead of being content to glean a few
isolated facts from the Riigveda , as has hitherto been done, we have
tried to trace a brief outline of the traditional history of early India
on the lines laid down by Pargiter. This must not, of course, be
confused with history proper, but it possesses none the less great
value of its own, both as a tangible framework for connecting a
number of well-authenticated facts, and as a basis for further in¬
vestigation of our historical knowledge of this obscure period. Par¬
giter has at least successfully demonstrated that it is a mistake to
regard such great historical figures of antiquity as Puru, Mandhata,
Nahusha, Yayati, Kartavlrya Arjuna, etc., as mere fanciful and
mythological names, and any theory which gives them some sort of
historical setting cannot but be regarded as of great value to students
of Indian history.

In spite of the limitations of our knowledge of. the political
history of the period, there can be no doubt that its chief interest
and importance lie in the picture of culture and civilization offered
by the vast .field of Vedic literature. Whereas everything else is
but vaguely known, we possess nearly full information about the
growth and gradual evolution of the Indian civilization from the
well-marked stratification of the mass of literature, collectively
known as the Vedas. It is also a matter of general knowledge that
this civilization is the common basis on which succeeding generations
of diverse races and localities have built up the imposing structure
known as the Hindu civilization. This would explain why this
volume has been entitled The Vedic Age , and detailed study has
been made of it in three different sections, corresponding to the
three well-marked stages of the evolution of Vedic literature.

There is a general agreement among scholars about the chrono¬
logical sequence of Vedic literature: the Rik-Samhita representing
the earliest stage, the other Saihhitas and Brahmanas the next, and
the Upanishads and Sutras the concluding one. But while these
chronological divisions are, broadly speaking, accurate, it is to be
noted that they are to some extent overlapping, and it is difficult to
draw an absolutely rigid line of demarcation between them. It is
likely, for example, that some portions of the Atharva-Samhitd are
as old as, if not older than, portions of the Rik-Samhita, and some
of the oldest Upanishads certainly reach back to the Brahmana
period. Nevertheless the general outlook of the three different
categories of literature is sufficiently distinct to label them as be¬
longing to three successive chronological periods, and they have
been dealt with accordingly in three separate sections.

It is, however, a difficult problem to assign definite dates to the
three literary stages of the Vedic period. In spite of extravagant
theories about the antiquity of the Rik-Samhita , the view that it
received its present form about 1000 B.C. has much to commend
itself. Though mainly based on philological grounds, as enunciated
in Chapter XII, this theory finds unexpected support even from
Indian traditions. For some of the kings referred to in the Hik-
Samhita seem to be identical with those mentioned in the royal
genealogies and occupying a low place in the dynastic list. Further,
as Pargiter has pointed out, “the Epic and Puranic tradition unani¬
mously and repeatedly declares that the Veda was arranged by
Vyasa,” who flourished about the time of the Bharata War, which
has been dated between 1500 and 1000 B.C. by .many scholars.

Whatever we might think of this date, it is important to remember

that along with the doctrine that “the Veda is eternal and everlast¬
ing,’* there are also ancient traditions to the effect that it was com¬
piled by Vvasa not long before the great Bharata War. The view
that dates the Rik-Samhita , in its present form . to about 1000 B C..
cannot therefore be regarded as absolutely wide of the mark and
altogether Without any basis of support in Indian tradition, put it
must be remembered that although the Rik-Samhita might have
received its final shape in about 1000 B.C., some of its contents arc
much older, and go back certainly to 1500 B.C.. and not improbably
even to a much earlier date.

There is no doubt whatsoever that the oldest Upanishads are pre-
Buddhist, and some of them at any rate belonged to the seventh
century B.C-, if not earlier still. The later Samhitas and Brahmanas
accordingly may be placed, generally speaking, in the ninth and
eighth centuries B.C. These dates are of course only provisional
and are set down here as merely working hypotheses.'

No precise date can be assigned to the end of the Vedic Age.
for the Sutras and Upanishads, representing the last stage of Vedic
literature, contain texts of varying antiquity. While, as mentioned
above,- some of them are probably as old as the seventh century
B.C., if not older still, others are probably as late as the third or
fourth century B.C. Although, therefore, the Vedic Age cannot be
regarded, strictly speaking, as having come to an end in 600 B.C.
with which this volume closes, this date has been selected mainly
for two reasons. In the first place, the sixth century B.C. saw
the rise of Buddhism, Jainism, and other religious sects heralding
that Protestant movement which was destined to bring to an end
the unquestioned supremacy of Vedic religion and culture* Se¬
condly, our knowledge of political history becomes more precise and
definite from the sixth century B.C.. and we can clearly perceive
how the stage was gradually set for the rise of the great Magadha

PREFACE

empire which constitutes the most distinguishing feature of the
succeeding period.

Although the age of the Sutras and Upanishads extends beyond
600 B.C., culturally it is a direct offshoot and a continuation of the
earlier Vedic^ civilization, . and reflects no special characteristic of
the later era, such as we find in the Epics, Puranas, or Buddhist and
Jaina literature. It has, therefore, been included in the volume
dealing with the Vedic Age even in disregard of the strict limitations
of chronology.

This volume attempts a picture of what may be regarded as
the dawn of Hindu civilization. To continue this metaphor, we may
say that the next two volumes reflect its full morning glory and
noonday splendour; in the fourth volume we come across the sha¬
dows of the declining day, while dusk sets in with the fifth. Then
follows the darkness of the long night, so far as Hindu civilization is
concerned, a darkness which envelops it even now- This gives a
broad idea of the distribution of the first five volumes of this series,

The Editor takes this opportunity of offering his sincere thanks
to the contributors of this volume for their hearty co-operation, and
to Professor H.G- Rawlinson for having kindly revised the MS.

He notes with great regret that one of the contributors, Rao
Bahadur K. N. Dikshit, late Director-General of Archaeology, Gov¬
ernment of India, passed away while the book was in the press, and
takes this opportunity to convey his condolence to the bereaved
family. His death has been a serious loss to Indian Archaeology.

The Department of Archaeology, Government of India, has
kindly supplied us with photographs for which we express our
hearty thanks to the authorities.

Some amount of repetition or overlapping is inevitable in a
book of this kind where different authors deal with literature and
the philosophical, religious, and social ideas .mainly derived from it,
and where the different chapters are closely related to one another.

The system of transliteration adopted in this volume is that
followed in the Epigraphia Indica. The geographical names have
been spelt as in the Imperial Gazetteer, with a few exceptions such
as “Krishna” for “Kistna,” “Narmada” for “Narbada.” Diacritical
marks have not been used, as a rule, in geographical names and
oriental words with an English suffix (Puranic, Rigvedic, Brahma-
nical, etc ) except to indicate ^the long a sound (a). In the word
Aryan, however, the a has not been lengthened as it may now be
regarded as almost a naturalized "English word.

In addition to fobtnotes, general references have been added
at the beginning of some chapters in order to vindicate books or
articles in periodicals which have been extensively used or frequently
referred to in the body of the text. No footnotes have been given

THE VEDIC AGE

in Chapter II as all the works cited therein will be dealt with in
detail in subsequent chapters.

A Bibliography has been added for the convenience of those
readers who wish to make special studies of any particular topic.
As most of our knowledge regarding the history and culture of the
Vedic Age is derived from Vedic literature, and a large number of
secondary texts also deal with the period as a whole, a General
Bibliography has been given at the end which covers the topics dealt
with in Books IV, V, VI, and VII. Generally speaking the Biblio¬
graphy is selective in character and does not aim at giving an
exhaustive list of works on the subject. The only exception to this
is the Bibliography to Chapter IX where an attempt has been made
to give a list of all important contributions on the Indus Valley
civilization, as the subject is comparatively new and controversial
in character, and it is difficult to assess the proper value of the
different theories. As copious footnotes have been given in many
chapters, important references indicated therein have not been
included.

ABIA.

ABOKI.

AE.

AIHT.

Ait. Br.

AJA.

AL.

Anthrop. Soc.
Jub. Vol.

AP.

Ap. Dh.S.
Ap. S.S.

ASL

ASS.

AV.

Bau. Dh.S.
Bau. S.S.
BDCRI.

BEFEO.

BIR.

BMFA.

Br.

Brih.

BSOS.

BV.

CAG.

CAH.

CAL

Chan-d.

Chhand.

CHI-

Comm. Vol.
CR.

Cuit. Her.

Dh. S.

DKA.

EI.

ERE.

ABBREVIATIONS

Annual Bibliography of Indian Archaeology ,
Leyden.

Annals of the Bhandai'kar Oriental Research In -
stilute , Poona.

Ancient Egypt , London.

Ancient Indian Historical Tradition , by F. E.
Pargiter.

Aitareya Brahmana.

American Journal of Archaeology , Philadelphia.
Altindisches Leben, by H. Zimmer .

Bom.

Anthropological Society of Bombay , Jubilee
Volume.

Aryan Path , Bombay.

Apastamba Dharma-sutra.

Apastamba Srauta-siitra.

Annual Report of the Archaeological Survey of
India. ^

Anandasrama Sanskrit Series , Poona.
Atharvaveda. ::

Baudhayana Dharma-sutra.

Baudhayana Srauta-sutra.

Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Insti¬
tute , Poona.

Bulletin de-VEcole Franqaise d* Extreme-Orient t
Hanoi

Bharatiya Itihasaki Ruparekha (in Hindi), Vol.

I, by Jay a Chandra Vidyalankar.

Bulletin of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Brahmana.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.

Bulletin of the School of Oriental (and African )
Studies, London.

Bharatiya Vidya , Bombay.

Cunningham/ s Ancient Geography of India, Ed.

by S. N. Majumdar.

Cambridge Ancient History.

Chronology of Ancient India, by S. N. Pradhan.
Chanhu-daro Excavations , 1933-36, by E. J. H.
Mackay.

Chhdndogya Upanishad.

Cambridge History of India.

Commemoration Volume.

Calcutta Review, Calcutta..

Current Science, Bangalore.

Cultural Heritage of India. Published by Sri
Rdmakrrshna Centenary Committee, Calcutta-
Dharma-sutra.

Dynasties of the Kali Age, by F. E. Pargiter.
Epigraphia Indica, Delhi.

Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, Ed. bv J-
Hastings.

THE VEJD1C AGE

Gau. Dh.S.

GD.

Geol. Mag.

Gr. S*

Harappa.

Hari.

HASL.

HIL.

HIP.

HOS.

HSL.

LA.

IAL.

IC.

IHQ.

ILN.

Ind. Antiquities.

Ind. Sc. Congress.
Ind. Stud.

IP.

JA.

JAHRS.

Jai. G.S.

JAOS.

JASB.

JBHS.

JBHU.

JBORS.

JGIS.

JGRS.

JIH.

JISOA.

JMU.

JOR.

JRAI.

JRAS.

JRASB(L).

JRASB(S).

JRSA.

JSHS.

Gautama Dharma-sutra.

Geographical Dictionary of Ancient and Medie¬
val India, 2nd Edn., oy N. L. Dey.

Geological Magazine.

Grinya-sutra.

Excavations at Harappa, by M. S. Vats.

Hanvamsa (Bombay Edition).

History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature, by F.
Max Muller .

History of Indian Literature.

tiisiory of Indian Philosophy, Vol II, Creative
Period, by S. K. Belvalkar and R. D. Ranade.

Harvard Oriental Series , Cambridge , Mass.

History of SaTiskiit Literature, by A. B. Keith.

Indian Antiquary, Bombay .

Indian Art and Letters, London.

Indian Culture, Calcutta.

Indian Historical Quarterly, Calcutta .

Illustrated London News, London.

Studies in Indian Antiquities, by H. C. Raychau-
dhuri.

Indian Science Congress.

lndische Studien, by A. Weber.

Indian Philosophy, by S. Radhakrishnan.

Journal Asiatique, Paris.

Journal of the Andhra Historical Research
Society, Rajahmundry .

Jaiminiya Gjihya-sutra.

Journal of the American Oriental Society.

Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Cal¬
cutta.

Journal of the Bombay Historical Society, Bom¬
bay.

Journal of the Benares Hindu University, Bena¬
res.

Journal of the Behar and Orissa Research So¬
ciety, Patna.

Journal of the Greater India Society, Calcutta.

Journal of the Gujarat Research Society, Bom¬
bay.

Journal of Indian History, Madras.

Journal of the Indian Society of Oriental Art,
Calcutta.

Journal of the Madras University, Madras.

Journal of Oriental Research, Madras.

Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
of Great Britain and Ireland, London.

Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great
Britain and Ireland, London.

Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal,
Letters, Calcutta.

Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal,
Science, Calcutta.

Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, London.

Journal of the Sind Historical Society, Karachi .

ABBREVIATIONS

JUB.

JUPHS.

Ka(ha.

Kau. S.

Kaushi.

Kena.

KHDS.

KHR.

\C7

MAGW.

Manava G.S.
Manu.

MASI.

Mbh.

Mbh. (Cr. Ed.).

Mem. Geol. Surv
Ind.

Moh. Exc.

Moh. Ind-

MR.

Mun^.

New Light.

NIA.

NR.

OLZ.

Panch. Br.

PBA.

PHAI.

PIHC.

POC.

PPL.

Preh. Civ.
Prolegomena.

QJMS-

Rec. Geol. Surv.

Ind.

Rivers.

RPVU.

Journal oj the University oj Bombay, Bombay.

Journal oj the U.P. Historical Society, Lucl c-
now.

Kafha (or Kaphakaj Upanishad.

Kausika Sutra.

Kaushiiaki Upanishad .

Kena Upanishad.

History oj Dharmasdstra, by P. V. Kane.

Karnatak Historical Review, Dharwar.

Kuhn's Zeitschrift.

Mitteilungun der Anthropologischen Gesells -
chajt in Wien.

Manava Grihya-sutra.

Manusmriti.

Memoirs oj the Archaeological Survey oj India.

Mahabhdrata (— Bombay Edition , unless spe¬
cifically stated otherwise ).

Critical Edition of the Mahabhdrata , published
by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Insti¬
tute, Poona (used for the first five Parvans
hitherto published).

Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India.

Further Excavations at Mohenjo-daro, by E. J<
H. Mackay.

Mohenjo-daro and the Indus Civilisation, by J .
Marshall.

Modern Review, Calcutta.

Murujaka Upanishad.

New Light on the Most Ancient East, by V.
Gordon Childe.

New Indian Antiquary, Bombay.

New Review, Calcutta .

Orientalische Literaturzeitung , Leipzig.

Purdna.

Panchavimsa Brdhmana.

Proceedings of the British Academy.

Political History of Ancient India, 4th Edn., by
H. C. Raychaudhuri.

Proceedings of the Indian History Congress.

Proceedings of the All-India Oriental Confe¬
rence.

Das Purdna Panchalaksharta , by W. Kirfel.

Prehistoric Civilisation of the Indus Valley, by
K. N. Dikshit.

Die Hymnen des Rigveda, Vol. I.: Metrische
und text-geschichtliche Prolegomena, by H.
Oldenberg.

Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society, Ban¬
galore.

Records of the Geological Survey of India.

Rivers of India, by B. C. Law.

Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upa-
nishads, by A. B. Keith.

THE VEDIC AGE

RV.

Sankh &r.S.
Sat. Br-
SAWM.

SBA.

SBE.

SC-

Sript.

SD.

SPAW.

SS.

SV.

Sve.

Taitt.

Taitt. Br.
Taitt. Sarh.
Tribes.

Vas. Dh.S.
Ved. Ind.

Vcd. Myth.
Vcd. Stud-

VM.

WZKM.

YV.

ZDMG.

Z IT.

Rigveda.

Sdnkhayana srauia-su.tr a.

SatapaUia Brdhmana.

Sitzungsberichte der Bayerischen Akademie
dcr Wissensckaften , Munchen.

Sitzungsberichte der Berliner Akademie der
Wissensckaften.

Sacred Books of the East , Oxford.

Science and Culture, Calcutta .

The Script of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, by
G. R. Hunter.

Sanskrit Drama, by A. B. Keith.

Sitzungsberichte der Preussischen Akademie
der Wissensckaften.

Srauta-sutra.

Sdmaveda.

Svetdsvatara Upanishad.

Taittiriya Upanishad.

Taittiriya Brdhmana.

Taittiriya Samhitd.

Tribes in Ancient India, by B. C. Law.

Vasishtha Dharma-sutra.

Vedic Index, by A. A. Macdonell and A. B.
Keith.

Vedische Mythologie, by A. Hillebrandt.

Vedische SUidien, by R. Pischel and K. F.
Gcldner.

Vedic Mythology, by A. A. Macdonell.

Wiener !Zeitschrift fur die Kunde des Morgen -
landcs .

Yajurveda.

Zeiischrift der Deutschen Morgenlandische
Gcscllschaft , Leipzig.

Zeiischrift fiir Indologie und Iranistik, Leipzig.

THE VEDIC AGE

BOOK ONE

INTRODUCTION

■»

CHAPTER I

INDIAN HISTORY— ITS NATURE,

SCOPE AND METHOD

History has been defined as “the study of man’s dealings with
other men, and the adjustment of working relations between human
groups.” The beginnings of the history of India, therefore, go back
to that remote period when man first settled in this country. We
need not discuss whether he migrated from outside or emerged here
by a process of evolution from his animal ancestors. But in any case
the earliest man has left little evidence to enable us to investigate his
thoughts, desires, activities or achievements. We can only dimly
discern his gradual growth as a sentient being amid the geological
changes and physical and biological environment in which he found
himself. To begin with, he was essentially a part of the plant and
animal life that surrounded him, reacting passively to the climate
and geographical configuration of the land. But he slowly gained
consciousness of those powers and potentialities which distinguished
him from other animals and enabled him to dominate over nature
rather than remain its slave.

The greater part of this process of evolution, which must have
covered a long period of time, is only a matter of inference based on
very slender evidence. The study of this fascinating subject has
made some progress in Europe, while so far as India is concerned, it
is still in its infancy. But the little that is known shows that the
prehistoric period in India presents features very similar to what
we meet with in Western Asia and Europe. Here, as elsewhere,
“man's prehistory merges in the pageant of the animal world,” and
is largely determined by his natural surroundings.

This volume, therefore, begins with a short account of the geo
logical, geographical, and biological background of primitive man.
This setting of the stage is followed by a study of the peoples who
played their part therein. In the absence of any written record,
the little that we know of their history and culture is based on ar¬
chaeological finds, such as tools and implements made of stone,
bone or metal, potsherds, rude paintings and skeletal remains —
exactly the same type of evidence on which the prehistoric study
of other countries is based.

As we proceed with our narrative we gradually realize that the
different phases of Indian history present a striking parallel to those
of other countries which can boast of a culture and civilization going
back to remote antiquity. The stone implements and other remains
of the palaeolithic and neolithic periods prove that human civiliza¬
tion began here in the same way, if not at the same time, as in other

THE VEDIC AGE

parts of the world. The development of this civilization through
the copper and iron ages, presents features which, though not iden¬
tical, yet offer sufficient similarity in detail with what we know of
many other countries. The discoveries in the Indus Valley and ad¬
jacent regions have further emphasized the close association bet¬
ween the cultures of India and those oi Western Asia, and thereby
link up Indian history with that of the most ancient period of the
world known to us.

India now takes her place, side by side with Egypt and Mesopota¬
mia, as a country where we can- trace the dawn of human civilization
and the beginnings of those thoughts, ideas, activities and movements
which have shaped the destinies of mankind all over the civilized
world. The history of India thus possesses an aspect of univer¬
sality which so strikingly distinguishes the history of Egypt, Babylonia,
and Assyria in the early, and Persia, Greece, and Rome in a some¬
what later age. In the case of each of these the universal aspect far
transcends in importance the individual or regional aspect. This is
not, however, the case with India. This difference has modified the
outlook and treatment of the history of India and made it a problem
almost sui generis.

The chief difference between India and the other ancient coun¬
tries mentioned above lies in the continuity of her history and civiliza¬
tion. The culture and civilization of Egypt, Sumer, Akkad, Babylon,
Assyria, and Persia have long ceased to exist. They are now mere past
memories and their history possesses only an academic interest. Indian
history and institutions, however, form an unbroken chain by which
the past is indissolubly linked up with the present. The modern
peoples of Egypt and Mesopotamia have no bond whatsoever with the
civilization that flourished there millennia ago and its memorials
have no more (usually very very much less) meaning to them than
to any enlightened man in any part of the world.

But not so in India. The icons discovered at Mohenjo-daro are
those of gods and goddesses who are still worshipped in India, and
Hindus from the Himalaya to Cape Comorin repeat even today the
Vedic hymns which were uttered on the banks of the Indus nearly
four thousand years ago. This continuity in language and literature,
and in religious and social usages, is more prominent in India than
even in Greece and Italy, where we can trace the same continuity in
history. The social and religious ideas of ancient Greece and Rome
and their philosophy and outlook on life, in short, some of the most
essential factors which give individuality to a nation and preserve its
continuity, are almost foreign to the peoples now inhabiting those
lands. An artificial continuity is no doubt maintained in these two
countries, and the link with the past is not altogether snapped, as in
the cases of Egypt and Mesopotamia. Nevertheless, the difference
can only be regarded as. one of degree and not of kind: and neither

INDIAN HISTORY, ITS NATURE, SCOPE AND METHOD

Greece nor Italy offers a parallel to India, in respect of either anti¬
quity or continuity of civilization.

To this difference may be added the present position of India.
Her political subjection and lack of material power have relegated
her to a position of marked inferiority in the eyes of the world. Both
these causes have affected the study of the history of India in more
ways than one. It has not been easy, for instance, to bring a de¬
tached scientific spirit to bear on the study of the history of India.
This spirit, which so conspicuously distinguishes European writers
of the history of Egypt and ancient countries in Western Asia, is not
seldom lamentably absent while they deal with the history of India.
The reason is not far to seek, and may be traced to a psychological
instinct or political prejudice. The India of today has cast its shadow
on the past, and few writers have been able to disentangle the two
and view each of them in its true perspective. The political history
of India, even of ancient times, has been almost invariably viewed
through the spectacles of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
V. A. Smith, the well-known historian of ancient India, and a dis¬
tinguished member of the Indian Civil Service, never concealed his
anxiety to prove the beneficence of the British Raj by holding before
his readers the picture of anarchy and confusion which, in his view,
has been the normal condition in India with rare intervals. To him,
as to many others before and after him, ancient Indian history after
the death of Harsha-vardhana was merely a pathetic tale of political
chaos and internecine struggles, pointing to the inevitable moral:
“such was India and such it always has been till the British establish¬
ed a stable order.”

Sometimes the pendulum swings to the opposite extreme, and
Indian writers seek to find in ancient India a replica of the most
advanced political institutions of the West. From isolated phrases
of doubtful import they conjure up a picture of a full-fledged modern
democracy and even of an up-to-date parliamentary form of govern¬
ment. This is a counterblast, from the Indian side, to the inveterate
belief of European writers in undiluted autocracy as the only form of
government that ever prevailed in India. To them “Oriental des¬
potism” is an article of faith that colours their whole outlook. Some
have also inherited the classical idea that wisdom and enlighten¬
ment were always a sort of monopoly of the West, and the East,
comparatively as backward as she is today, must have acquired all
the elements of higher culture from the West.

The squalid poverty of modern India colours the outlook on
economic conditions in ancient and mediaeval times. Even enlighten¬
ed historians find it difficult to accept the view that Indians built
ships and navigated the seas, for no better reason than that modern
Indians show such an aversion from, and ineptitude for, maritime
activities. Such instances may be multiplied to almost any extent.

THE VEDIC AGE

There are no doubt exceptions, but one cannot deny, or overlook,
the broad fact that Indian history has suffered much from an instinct
to read the present into the past.

The opposite danger of reading the past into the present has
been no less a potential factor in distorting the history of India. To
many the most glaring imperfections and even the most degrading
features of modern Indian social life are sanctified by antiquity. They
have a tendency to judge everything they see before them, not by its
present form and effect, but by a reference to what they conceive to
be its original character, and the part it is supposed to have played
in building up an ideal society in the past. This almost necessarily
leads to the artificial creation of a golden age which rests mainly on
imagination and intuition, independent of historical evidence. This
intellectual support of false doctrines and bad institutions in the
name of India’s past often proceeds from a perverted form of patrio¬
tic sentiments or an inborn sense of national pride. In either case
it is a wrong interpretation of Indian history, and what is worse,
such interpretation is often devised as an instrument for consecrating
all deep-seated prejudices.

The student of Indian history must avoid these pitfalls and follow
the modern method of scientific research. Our aim should be the
discovery of the truth, and nothing but the truth, and in order to
attain this goal we must apply our minds fearlessly and without pre¬
judice and preconceptions to the study of all available evidence. We
should properly sift these data by all rational methods, handle them
in the spirit of a judge rather than an advocate, and formulate our
conclusions only as far as they permit us to do so. We may not
achieve definite results in many cases, and final and decisive conclu¬
sions would probably be few and far between. But it is better to
plead ignorance, express doubts and put forward alternative possi¬
bilities rather than definitely uphold a view on meagre and insuffi¬
cient grounds. We must be particularly on our guard where any
such view is likely to evoke strong sentiments and passions or affect
the interest of any class or community. The history of India’s past
touches the present life of India on many points, and we may legiti¬
mately expect the one to guide and control the other. This makes
it all the more difficult, especially for an Indian writer, to take a
detached view of the history of India and approach it in a purely
scientific attitude. Nevertheless the difficulty, great as it is, must
be overcome, and a proper critical spirit should be cultivated, if we
are to read aright the story of India’s past and correctly understand
its implications for the future.

We have so far dealt with the peculiar difficulties that confront
us in the study of Indian history in view of its continuity. Another
obstacle, also of a somewhat special character, arises from the nature
of the evidence on which the study must necessarily be based. The

INDIAN HISTORY, ITS NATURE, SCOPE AND METHOD

different classes of evidence and their nature, scope and value will
be discussed in detail in the next chapter. But some general points
must be noted here in order to indicate both the limitations and the
specific directions of our study.

The first thing to remember is that for the longest period of
Indian history, viz., from the earliest time down to the Muslim con¬
quest in the thirteenth century A.D., a period of about four thousand
years, we possess no historical text of any kind, much less such a
detailed narrative as we possess in the case of Greece, Rome, and
China. The history of ancient India resembles, therefore, that of
ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. In all these cases it has only been
possible to reconstruct the skeleton with the help of archaeological
evidence discovered in comparatively recent times. This history
differs radically from what we normally understand by the word. It
is mostly a string of names and incidents, often with wide gaps, and
almost always without that fullness of detail which enables us to
trace the causes and consequences of specific events, examine the
various forces at work in their true perspective, mark the general
tendencies of the epoch, explain the inner causes of the rise and fall
of kingdoms and empires, or the progress and decay of races and
nations, and determine the exact relation between the different
elements of the body politic or the different aspects of life and society.
These and many other features which make history a social science
in the real sense of the term are lacking in the history of ancient
India, more or less to the same extent as in that of other ancient
civilizations that flourished in Egypt or Western Asia.

But there is one very important difference. Ancient India has
bequeathed to us a vast treasury of texts which represent the intel¬
lectual and literary activities of more than two thousand years and
cover a wide field. The earliest literary work, the Sarhhita of the
Rigveda , is at least three thousand years old and may be even con¬
siderably older. A continuous stream of literature flowing since that
remote age, widening in course of centuries, and embracing almost all
fields of human endeavour excepting political activity, throws a light
on the civilization of India such as we do not meet with in cases of
other ancient cultures. This mass of literature deals with philosophy
and religion, including ethics, ritual, and ceremonial; cosmogony,
cosmology, geography, astronomy, and the allied sciences; political
and economic doctrines and practices; and, in a minor way, with
almost all branches of secular life. It includes, besides a mass of
religious texts, purely literary works such as epics, lyrics, Kdvyas
(poems), dramas and prose romances, as well as biographies and folk
tales. This literature is as bulky in volume as it is varied in its con¬
tents. Although it does not help us very much in reconstructing the
political history of ancient India, it throws a flood of light on, and
enables us to trace the various stages in the development of, culture

THE VEDIC AGE

and civilization in ancient India, such as is not possible in the case
of ancient Egypt, Westei'n Asia and China, and even Greece and Rome.

This fact must be borne in mind in any approach to the study
of ancient Indian history. We should not expect any critical and
detailed narrative of the political events, or a proper estimate of the
life and character of great historical personages of whom we catch
but. fleeting glimpses in the moving panorama of the history of two
thousand years that passes before our eyes in a haze of mist or gloom.
The galaxy of kings, generals, and statesmen which crowd, for ins¬
tance, the canvas of the history of Greece and Rome, the moving
stories of their lives and activities, the surging mass of internal and
external forces that shape the destiny of the state and set it going,
sometimes in slow evolution and sometimes in revolutionary ardour,
and the ebb and tide of national glory from age to age with its intense
human appeal and great lessons for posterity — all these and many
other factors which form the spell of the history of Greece and Rome
do not constitute the main force or the chief interest of ancient Indian
history. That these elements were not lacking in the evolution of
Indian history is proved by the occasional glimpses of great men
and great events, of the same genre. But these are- mostly shadows,
without that glow and colour which endow them with life and spirit.
Hence the picture is dull and lifeless and, being devoid of general
interest, makes no passionate appeal to human mind.

But though admittedly deficient in this respect, Indian history is
abundantly rich in its delineation of the progress of the human mind
and society from its earliest infancy to a comparatively mature state.
Other civilizations must have passed through the same or similar
stages, but we lack the means to trace them in such fullness of details.
In no other case, for example, can we go back to the dim beginnings
of those intellectual and moral ideas which appear to us in full matu¬
rity in the shape of a set form of religion, theology, and philosophy.
Thanks to the vast mass of Indian literature, we can not onlv do this
but follow, in a general wav, the long and tortuous ways which human
civilization, at least in a large part of the world, has had to pursue in
its weary and tedious onward march for thousands of vears. This
constitutes a claim for universal interest which should not be less
keen than that inspired by the political history of Greece and Rome.

The genius of each considerable group of humanity is perhaps
adapted more to one kind of end than to another. It has been argued
that the Indians had a bent of mind which looked more to the inner
self than the outer body, to matters spiritual rather than the material
world. In the absence of a fuller knowledge of the political history or
secular life of ancient India, it is difficult to set the final seal of ap¬
proval to this view, although it is very generally held. But so far as
available evidence goes, there cannot be the slightest doubt i hat Indian
civilization manifests itself in a way and a form very different from

INDIAN HISTORY, ITS NATURE, SCOPE AND MEBHQD

that with which we are familiar in the rest of the world. We have
consequently to approach the history of India in a different spirit, and
adopt a different scale of values in order to appraise her culture and
civilization. The wars and conquests, the rise and fall of empires
and nations, and the development of political ideas and institutions
should not be regarded as the principal object of our study, and must
be relegated to a position of secondary importance. On the other
hand, more stress should be laid upon philosophy, religion, art, and
letters, the development of social and moral ideas, and the general
progress of those humanitarian ideals and institutions which form the
distinctive feature of the spiritual life of India and her greatest con¬
tribution to the civilization of the world.

Nevertheless, the political history of each period, as far as it is
known to us, must be the starting point of our study, as it forms th$
backbone of history. Its function may be compared to that of the
skeleton in a human body which gives shape and distinctness to the
mass of flesh and skin and marks it with the stamp of individuality.

The greatest handicap , in the treatment of the history of ancient
India, both political and cultural, is the absence of a definite chrono¬
logy. The dates of political events and of the vast mass of literature
which forms the basis of cultural study are but imperfectly known,
and the farther back we recede, even a close approximation of these
dates becomes more and more difficult and uncertain. This gives scope
for endless discussions and wide differences of opinion. We experience
a similar difficulty in the interpretation of data, as they are often
vague and meagre. It is not always possible, and in many cases
neither desirable nor profitable, in a general comprehensive history
of India, to review the different standpoints, and the historian is often
obliged to adopt one particular view, as against others, with or some¬
times even without brief reference to them. For minute discussions
of the merits of conflicting views the reader must be referred to. special
treatises or articles in journals. Great care should, however, always
be taken to distinguish clearly the known from the unknown, and the
doubtful from the certain, and to indicate-, as far as possible, the range

of our ignorance and uncertainty. Ignorance may not be bliss in

• *

historical studies, but it is certainly folly to be wise where wisdom
is based on imperfect knowledge and serves merely as a cloak for
dogmatism. As the following pages will show, the path of the histo¬
rian is beset with difficulties, doubts, and uncertainties; he has often
to advance laboriously through dubious tracks and not seldom loses
them altogether. His task frequently resolves itself into weighing
one set of doubtful evidence against another in order to arrive tit what
appears to him to be the most reasonable conclusion. More often
than not, such theories are all that he can offer. The historian, no
less than his readers, must clearly recognize the provisional nature

THE VEDIC AGE

of these hypotheses and be ready to see them modified or upset and
replaced by others with the discovery of fresh data. They are slen¬
der but necessary foundations on which the history of India has
been built up in the past and has to be built in future.

The observations hitherto made apply more particularly to the
ancient period of Indian history. With the beginning of the next
period the situation is considerably improved by the existence of a
series of chronicles, dealing with the history of India from the founda¬
tion of the political power by foreign Muslim invaders up to the eigh¬
teenth century A.D. These chronicles include detailed narratives of
contemporary events as well as compilations of past history from
older sources now lost to us. They cannot be regarded as an absolute¬
ly authentic account or impartial review of historical events, but
supply ample data for the reconstruction of the history of the period.
Both in scope and value they are comparable to the chronicles and
historical treatises in Europe of the same period. Unfortunately
these historical texts concern themselves primarily with the events
and fdrtunes of the principal Muslim ruling dynasties, and dwell
only very incidentally on the history of the smaller states, specially
the Hindu kingdoms. Nor, with a few exceptions, do they throw
much light on the life of the people at large outside the royal courts.
Although, therefore, there is a great advance in our historical know¬
ledge over the earlier period, and in some cases we have got a
pretty good historical account, it is, generally speaking, neither as
definite nor as full as our modern historical sense would demand, in
spite of the valuable additional help that the historian gets from
other sources such as the archaeological evidence, official documents,
contemporary literature, accounts of foreign travellers, etc. Never¬
theless it would be unjust to deny that from about 1200 A.D. India
possesses a written history which would not suffer very much in
comparison with the history of contemporary Europe, and might
differ from it in degree, but not in kind. It is a fairly good and
detailed history, but of kings and states, not of the country and
the people.

The thirteenth century A.D. may be regarded as a broad dividing
line in Indian history in more than one sense. The sovereign
power passed into the hands of foreigners who belonged to alien
races and professed a new religion of somewhat militant type.
The establishment, for the first time, of two diverse systems of
culture and civilization led to a definite cleavage between the rulers
and the ruled such as India had never known before. Indian history
gains in content and becomes richer in detail, but loses unity of
treatment. The stories of the ruling powers grow in volume, but
we know little of the lot of the ruled who formed the vast mass of
the people.

The first three or four centuries of Muslim rule in India form

INDIAN HISTORY. ITS NATURE. SCOPE AND METHOD

a very important period of transition. The foreign rulers and the
new religion with its exotic culture took a long time to take root
in the soil. But we have little reliable knowledge of the struggle
for independence and the steps by which the resistance of the
people was broken down. Of the early reaction of Hinduism to¬
wards Islam, and the process by which the latter gradually made
headway in this land of conservatism and orthodoxy, we know
even less. The Muslim chroniclers, our sole source of information,
generally speaking, record only a series of cheap military victories
over the rebellious or recalcitrant infidels, and these are looked down
upon as merely hewers of wood and drawers of water whose life and
fortunes are hardly of any consequence to them. They would have
us believe that the triumphant banner of Islam merrily floated
from one end of the land to the other, and nothing else counted in
the country.

But this is merely one side of the picture, and that of the lion
painted by himself. We know that there was always a Hindu
India, side by side with Muslim India, and it again asserted itself,
both in politics and culture, in the fullness of time. It was not
dead, but lay dormant in the early centuries of the foreign rule.
The history of the Hindus, except in South India and Rajputana.
during this period is, however, almost a blank page. The scanty
remains of their literature throw some faint light on the social
and religious changes that came over them, but the little that we
know merely casts into greater relief the depth of our ignorance.

Light dawns again in the sixteenth century. The establishment
of the Mughal power ushers in a new period of Indian history in
which our knowledge of India as a whole is much fuller, and we
begin to see things in their true perspective. The vision of a new
India, built upon the only stable foundation of the love and con¬
fidence of the ruled and the fusion of the two great cultures, now
emerges in clear light. History, though it still continues mainly
to be the court history of the Muslim rulers, begins to visualize India
as a whole, and takes note of Hindu India. The rosy dream of a
politically united India, on a common cultural basis, is soon shatter¬
ed, but Hindu India comes to stay and the historian no longer loses
sight of it. The balance is restored and the unity of Indian history is
securely established. In spite of many vicissitudes, we can trace
the fortunes of India as a whole through the pages of history.
This unity of treatment is never lost in later times.

It is not necessary to dwell at length upon the modern history
of India. Strictly speaking, it offers no peculiarities, in respect
of sources of information or method of treatment, save and except
the restrictions imposed by political considerations. The archives
of the British Government are gradually being thrown open, and
the Indian states also have recently adopted a more liberal policy

THE VED1C AGE

in this respect. Contemporary historical documents are ample,
though they have not yet been worked out as fully or as inde¬
pendently as one could have desired.

It will be hardly any exaggeration to say that Indian history,
in a comprehensive sense, has so far been neither written nor even
conceived in a proper spirit. A clear grasp of the subject is general¬
ly lacking. An attempt has been made above to analyse the different
factors that account for this lamentable state of things. We have
also tried to indicate the true spirit in which the study of Indian
history should be approached, the inherent defects and shortcomings
imposed by lade of materials, and the likely dangers and pitfalls
which the historian should avoid.

The observations made above would also convey some idea of
what the “History of India” means to its readers; what they might
legitimately look for, and what they are likely to miss; the proper
value they should attach to different aspects, and the profit they
may derive from them; the resemblances as well as the differences
which it offers to the history of other countries; and lastly, the ex¬
tent to which the interest of the subject is confined to the particular
region and people of whom it treats or concerns a wider range of
humanity.

CHAPTER II

SOURCES OF INDIAN HISTORY

It will be abundantly clear from what has been said in the pre¬
vious chapter that the sources of Indian history differ considerably in
its different periods. Broadly speaking, we may distinguish three
such periods, viz.: (1) from the most ancient times to the end of the
twelfth century A.D.; (2) from the thirteenth to the eighteenth
century; and (3) the subsequent period. It will be convenient,
therefore, to treat these three periods separately.

1. THE ANCIENT PERIOD
A. Literary Sources

The absence of any regular historical chronicle is the leading
feature of this period. When we consider the vast mass of contem¬
porary literature and its extremely wide range, the almost utter
lack of historical texts certainly appears as a somewhat strange
phenomenon. Some people are, therefore, inclined to believe that
such literature did exist, and explain its absence by a theory of
wholesale destruction. It must be regarded, however, as extremely
singular that the agencies of destruction should have singled out
this particular branch of literature as their special target. But the
strongest argument against the supposed existence of regular his¬
torical literature is the absence of any reference to historical texts.
We have, therefore, to admit that the literary genius of India, so
fertile and active in almost all conceivable branches of study, was
not applied to chronicling the records of kings and the rise and
fall of states and nations. It is difficult to give a rational explana¬
tion of this deficiencju but the fact admits of no doubt.

The deficiency- is all the more strange as there are indications
that the ancient Indians did not lack in historical sense. This is
proved by the carefully preserved lists of teachers in various Vedic
texts, as well as in writings of the Buddhists, Jains and other re¬
ligious sects. That this spirit also extended to the political field
is shown not only by the songs and poems in praise of kings and
heroes referred to in Vedic literature, but also by the practice of
reciting eulogies of kings and royal families on ceremonial occasions.
Even so late as the seventh century A.D. Hiuen Tsang noticed
that each province in India had its own official for maintaining
written records in which were mentioned good and evil events,
with calamities and fortunate occurrences. That this practice con¬
tinued for centuries after Hiuen Tsam? is proved by a large number
of local chronicles and the preambles in old land-grants which

THE VEDIC AGE

record the genealogies of royal families, sometimes for several
generations.

We may thus presume that neither historical sense nor his¬
torical material was altogether wanting in ancient India. What
was lacking was either the enthusiasm or the ability to weave the
scattered raw materials into a critical historical text with a proper
literary setting which the people would not willingly let die. In
other words, in spite of great intellectual and literary activity,
Tndia did not produce a Herodotus or Thucydides, not even a Livy
or Tacitus. It has been argued that this was partly due to the
peculiar temperament of the people who, to use the words of Hiuen
Tsang, ‘‘made light of the things of the present world.” But this
explanation can be hardly regarded as satisfactory when we re¬
member the great progress of the Indians in various branches of
secular literature, including law, political science, and the art of
administration.

Whatever may be the reason, the fact remains that the only
concrete result of historical study in the most ancient period is to be
found in long lists of kings preserved in the Puranas and the epics.
These lists profess to trace the unbroken royal lines from the first
human king that ruled down to about the third or fourth century
A.D. The earlier part of them is obviously mythical, and the last
part is undoubtedly historical; but it is a moot point to decide where
the myth ends and reliable tradition begins.

It is interesting to trace the gradual changes in the views of
scholars regarding the historical value of these traditional royal
lists preserved in the Puranas and epics. At first they were re¬
jected wholesale without much ceremony. Later, the accounts of
the dynasties ruling in the sixth century B.C. and later were ac¬
cepted as fairly reliable, as they were partially corroborated by
the Buddhist literature and archaeological evidence. Next, the pre¬
ceding dynasties going back to the time of the Great War described
in the M.cihdbharata , which event is approximately placed in round
numbers between 1500 and 1000 B.C., were also regarded by some
scholars as furnishing a secure basis for history, though they were
loath to accept as correct all the details about names and dates.
So far as the account of the royal dynasties before the Great War
is concerned, Pargiter was the first to make a bold attempt to co¬
ordinate the varying details into a skeleton of political history, and
others have since followed in his footsteps. The difficulty of the
task is increased by the strongly marked differences in the various
traditions, and the conclusions reached by the few scholars who
have so far worked in this field show great divergences. The
attempt to reconstruct the skeleton of political history before the
Great War cannot, therefore, be regarded as yet leading to any
satisfactory result. For the period following that (1000-600 B.C.)

SOURCES OF INDIAN HISTORY

we have at least a working hypothesis, and it is not till we come
to tlie beginning oi the sixtn century B.C. that we can firmly grasp
the thread of. the dynastic history of Northern India.

The traditions preserved in ancient Indian literature, notably
the Puranas, thus form the main source of information for the hisr
tory of the earliest period, and for the period before the sixth
century B.C. they constitute our only source. The Buddhist and
Jain literatures of the succeeding period form a valuable supplement
and corrective to the evidence of the Puranas, and isolated references
in other literary works, even grammatical texts, have proved to be
very important historical data.

For the later period, beginning with the Guptas, we have no
texts like the Puranas, giving even bare dynastic lists. But although
Indian literature practically ignores the history of the long period
of one thousand years that follow, it does not altogether cease to
be of help. Apart from isolated references scattered in the vast
mass of literature of all types, we have two classes of works that
contribute directly to our knowledge of history, viz. biographies
and local chronicles.

It is fortunate that certain writers took the lives of their royal
patrons as the theme of their literary works. Banabhatta, that great
master of Sanskrit prose, wrote the Harsha-charit a (life of the em¬
peror Harsha), and two poets, Vakpati and Bilhana, described the ex¬
ploits of Yasovarman and Vikramaditya (of the later Chalukya
dynasty) in two epics, the Gaudavaho and the Vikramanka-deva
charitu. We have also a curious poetical work, the Rama-charita ,
in which the author uses throughout verses of double entendre ,
which, taken one way, describe the story of the Ramayana, and
taken the other way, recount the story of king Ramapala of Bengal.

Among other biographical works may be mentioned the Kuma-
rapala-charita of Jayasimha, Kumar apdla-chartta or Dvydsraya -
kdvya of Hemachandra, Hammird-kdvya of Nayachandra, Nava -
sdhasanka-charita of Padmagupta, Bhojaprabandha by Ballala,
Prithviraja^charita of Chand Bardai and Prithvlraja-vijaya (frag¬
mentary) by an anonymous writer.

These and other works of the same class cannot be regarded as
genuine history, although they contain valuable historical infor¬
mation. Their object was the glorification of the king rather than
to give a true picture of his life and times, and they were mostly
conceived by their authors not as historical texts, but primarily as
mediums for showing their literary skill and ingenuity.

Among the local chronicles, the most famous is the Rajatarangini.
It is a history of Kashmir, written throughout in verse, by Kalhana
in A.D. 1149-50. This is the only work in ancient Indian literature
that may be regarded as an historical text in the true sense of the
word. The author has not only taken great pains to collect his

THE VEDIC AGE

material from the existing chronicles and other sources but, at the
beginning of his work, he has laid down a few general principles
for writing history which are remarkable as being far in advance
of his age. Indeed they may be regarded as anticipating, to a large
extent, the critical method of historical research which was not
fully developed till the nineteenth century A.D. In view of the
lamentable paucity of historical talent in ancient India, it is worth
while quoting a few of Kaihana ’s observations, showing the high
level which the Indian intellect had attained even in this much
neglected sphere of activity. Regarding the strict impartiality to
be observed by an historian Kaihana remarks:

“That virtuous poet alone is worthy oi praise who, free from
love or hatred, ever restricts his language to the exposition of
facts." (I. 7.).

As to the method of collecting data we may quote the follow¬
ing verses among others (I. 14, 15):

“I have examined eleven works of former scholars which con*

tain the chronicles of the kings, as well as the views of the sage
Nila ( Nlldpurana ).

“By the inspection of ordinances {sdsana) of former kings re¬
lating to religious foundations and grants, laudatory inscriptions
( prasasti-'pattCL ) as well as written records Isastra), all wearisome
error has been set at rest."

In spite of his excellent equipment and high ideals, Kaihana
was unable to reconstruct the early history of Kashmir, for his enthu¬
siasm and industry could not make up for the lack of authentic
material. His account of the period before the seventh century A.D.
cannot be regarded as trustworthy, and it becomes more and more
unreliable as we go back to more ancient periods. Nevertheless his
attempt was creditable, and it is refreshing to find that he alone,
of all Indian writers, has preserved some accounts of such for¬
gotten Indian rulers as Kanishka. From the seventh century
A.D., however, the Rdjataranginl may be regarded *.as a reliable
history of Kashmir. The author narrates the career of each king
in chronological order with a fair amount of detail, showing scru¬
pulous impartiality in his criticism of men and events, and exhibit¬
ing soundness of judgment and healthy liberality in his general ex
pression of views. As he gradually comes nearer his own age the
history becomes fuller and more and more replete with interesting
accounts of men and things. It ceases to be merely a chronicle of
dry details and faithfully presents the ebb and flow of national
life, the periods of glory and misery, and the greatness and weak*

SOURCES OF INDIAN HISTORY

ness of men and rulers — in short all those minute details which make
history a record of intense human interest, faithfully portraying
the march of events through which a people works out its own
destiny. We close the book with a poignant regret that we do not
possess such a history for the whole of India, or many more texts
of the same kind dealing with other parts of the country.

Kalhana’s example was not lost upon his countrymen and
several writers of Kashmir continued his chronicle. Jonaraja, who
died in A.D. 1459, imitated Kalhana’s style and brought the histo¬
rical narrative up to the reign of Zain-ul-Abidln. . The Jaina-
Rajata'rO’Tigini by his pupil Srivara covers the period A.D. 1459-86.
Then came Prajya Bhafcta and his pupil Suka who carried on the
history till a few years after the conquest of Kashmir by Akbar.
These later works are, however, much inferior to the Rdjataranglni
both in literary style and in historical accuracy.

Next to Kashmir, reference may be made to a large number
of chronicles of Gujarat. These include well-known works like
Ras-Mala, Kxrtikaumudi of Somesvara, Sukrlta-sCmklrtana of
Arisimha, Prabandha-Chintamani by Merutuhga, Prabandha-kosa by
Rajasekhara, Hammira»mada-mardana and Vastupdla-Tejahpdla-pra-
sdsti of Jayasimha, Sukritakirti-kallolini of Udayaprabha, Vasanta-
vildsa of Balachandra, etc., which are treasure-houses of stories and
fables as well as historical anecdotes. The two biographies of
Kumarapala, referred to above, and these chronicles enable us to
trace the history of Gujarat, specially under the Chaulukyas, with
fullness of details such as is not possible in the case of any other
kingdom in ancient India except Kashmir.

There were probably local chronicles of Sind which formed the
basis of an Arabic history of which we possess a Persian transla¬
tion, the Chachnama , composed at the beginning of the thirteenth
century A.D. It gives a detailed account of the Arab conquest of
Sind and briefly refers to its history during the previous century.

We have also local chronicles of Nepal, which merely contain
a list of kings and the duration of their reigns, with only a few de¬
tails here and there. The earlier portion of these Vavisavans — as
they are called — is purely mythical, but there seems to be an histo¬
rical basis for the accounts relating to the period commencing from
the first century A.D. The list is not, however, carefully compiled.
There are wide divergences between the different chronicles, and
many details are proved to be wrong by epigraphic evidence. These
chronicles were never worked into historical texts by a genius of
the type of Kalhana, and although in the absence of other sources
they supply the framework for the history of Nepal, they cannot be
regarded as a satisfactory substitute for real and genuine history.

The existence of historical chronicles in Kashmir, Guiarat, Sind,
and Nepal supports the presumption that the archives of different

THE VEDIC AGE

states, as a rule, contained such royal chronicles, as stated by Hiuen
Tsang. These chronicles, unless raised to the status of a literary
work of the type of Rajatarangini, or included in pretentious or
sacred works like the Puranas, are not likely to long survive the
fortunes of the dynasty whose history they recorded. This pro¬
bably accounts for their general destruction, though a few have
been preserved in outlying places, like Kashmir, Gujarat, Nepal,
and Assam (in a later period).

B. Archaeology

If we had to depend on literary sources alone we would have
known very little indeed of the history of India for the thousand
years that elapsed since the fall of the Andhras in the third cen¬
tury A.D. Our knowledge of this period would have been even
much less than that of the thousand years preceding it. Fortu¬
nately the gap has been filled by the actual remains of this ancient
period in the shape of coins, inscriptions, and monuments. They
have enabled us to reconstruct an outline of the history of the
period which, vague and imperfect though it is, forms the only sure
foundation on which the history of India will have to be built up
in future.

Indian archaeology is a science of recent growth, and is barely
a century old. Its pioneers were a few enterprising European
scholars who took a deep interest in the antiquities of India and
made an earnest effort to unravel her past. The origin and progress
of this fascinating labour of love, which culminated in organized
departments of research and exploration, achieving wonderful
results, has been reviewed in the next chapter. Here we may
merely tabulate these results by way of indicating their bearing
on the history of India.

I. Inscriptions. — Inscriptions have proved a source of the highest
value for the reconstruction of the political history of ancient
India. Being engraved on stone and metal they are free from the
process of tampering to which books or other documents written
on perishable materials are liable. Their value as contemporary
documents thus remains unimpeachable. Although not always
dated, the character of the script enables us to determine their ap¬
proximate age. Thus as historical evidence they take precedence
over the mass of literature, as the age of most of the texts is uncer¬
tain and they all must have undergone considerable modifications
in the course of being preserved in copies through hundreds of years.

Apart from these considerations, the nature of many of these
inscriptions invests them with a high degree of historical importance.
The series of Indian inscriptions opens with the memorable edicts
of the great Maurya Emperor Asoka, engraved on rocks and pillars

SOURCES OF INDIAN HISTORY

throughout his vast empire, from beyond the Indus in the west
to the Mysore plateau in the south. These are royal proclama¬
tions and commandments, mostly in his own words, and convey
across twenty-two centuries the life and personality of a great
man and a great ruler with a striking vividness to which there is
hardly any parallel in the history of the world. It is either the
strangest freak of nature or the rare good fortune of India, if not a
divine dispensation, that in the midst of an almost wholesale destruc¬
tion of historical materials of the period, one fragment alone should
have been spared, so faithfully reflecting that spiritual greatness
which constitutes the glory of Indian civilization and its special cha¬
racteristic. The records of Asoka form a class by themselves, and
contribute largely to our knowledge of the history of the period and
the spirit that animated one of the greatest men that ever sat on a
royal throne. No other inscriptions make even a near approach to
them in point of interest or historical importance.

One form of alphabet is used in all these records, excepting two
groups in the north-west, which are written in an altogether different
script. The latter, known as Kharoshthi, was obviously derived from
Aramaic and, like the Semitic alphabet, was written from right to
left. It continued in use in the north-western corner of India for
many centuries, but vanished without leaving any trace behind.

The script in which all the other inscriptions of Aioka were
written is known as Brahmi, and is written from left to right. It is
the earliest form of Indian writing known to us, and from it have
been derived, by slow evolution through ages, all the Indian charac¬
ters current today, including Tamil, Telugu, and Kanarese. When
the records of Aioka first came to notice towards the close
of the eighteenth century, their script was as much an enigma to
all as in the fourteenth century A.D., when the Emperor Flruz
Tughluk brought a pillar with Aioka’s inscription to Delhi, and
made a vain attempt to have it read by the Indian Pundits. The
deciphering of the Asokan inscriptions by Prinsep (described in detail
in the next chapter) is one of the romances of archaeology comparable
to those associated with the discovery of the clue to the hierogly¬
phics and cuneiform writings. It was accomplished in A.D. 1837,
and in course of the next fifty years Indian epigraphy was placed on
a firm footing. By the devoted and patient labour of a number of
scholars the different types of Indian scripts were thoroughly studied,
analysed, and classified, and a scientific basis laid down for Indian
palaeography, which has made it possible to corelate them to diffe¬
rent ages and localities. Apart from their intrinsic interest as his¬
torical records, the Asokan inscriptions have thus proved of great
value as the starting-point of epigraphic and palaeographic studies
in India.

The inscriptions of the post- Asokan period may be broadly

THE VEDIC AGE

divided into two classes, official and private. The official records
are in most cases either prasastis, i.e. eulogies of kings written by
their court-poets, or land-grants. The most famous example of the
former is furnished by the long record of Samudra-gupta engraved
on an Asokan pillar, now in the Allahabad fort. It describes in
great detail the personal qualities and the military achievements
of the great Gupta emperor and forms the chief document of his
memorable reign. The age of the Imperial Guptas is now justly
regarded as the Golden Age of India. But all memories of it, and
even the very name of Samudra-gupta — the Indian Napoleon — who
laid the foundations of the Gupta empire, were lost to Indian tradi¬
tion. The Allahabad prasasti has preserved from oblivion the
name and fame of this great hero and, along with a number of other
inscriptions, forms the main basis of our knowledge of the Grupta
period. The Gwalior prasasti of Bhoja has similarly thrown a flood
of light on the imperial Pratlharas, another forgotten dynasty of
ancient India.

Among other prasastis , supplying valuable historical informa¬
tion, may be mentioned that of king Vijayasena of the Sena dynasty
of Bengal engraved on a slab of stone found at Deopara. Its nomi¬
nal object is to record the building of a temple by Vijayasena, but
it is almost wholly devoted to a panegyric of the great king, record¬
ing his victories and achievements in the most high-flown language.
The Aihole inscription of Pulakesin II, the Chalukya king, belongs
to exactly the same type.

By far the largest number of official documents are charters
conveying the sale or gift of lands! These are mostly engraved on
copper-plates, though in very rare instances they are also found
on stone pillars and in temples. These charters define the boun¬
daries of the lands and specify the object and conditions of the
grant, often enumerating other interesting details such as the
price of land, the mode of its measurement, exhortations to future
kings not to confiscate the grants, and quotations from the scrip¬
tures threatening severe punishment after death for those who vio¬
late the grants in any way.

Interesting though these details are in many ways, they do
not contain much that is of historical importance. But by a form¬
al convention, fortunately followed in many if not in all cases,
these charters begin with a sort of royal prasasti which gives a
short account of the donor’s family for several generations, and
describes in greater detail the life and achievements of the ruling
king. These formal and introductory portions in the land-grants
have supplied us with invaluable historical material. Sometimes,
as in the Chola inscriptions, this introductory part runs to a very
great length, and forms a valuable historical document by itself.
Very often this portion was wholly or partially stereotyped in the

SOURCES OF INDIAN HISTORY

royal archives and used in several grants. Sometimes the portion
was independently engraved on copper-plates and these were kept
ready in the office, so that when occasion arose, only the details of
the grant had to be added to make them formal charters. In short,
this historical part had little organic connection with the grant it¬
self, and may be regarded as a prasasti prefixed to it.

These pra&astis were composed by court-poets or other royal
officials, and one would naturally hesitate to take them at their
face value. There is undoubtedly a great deal of exaggeration in
the effusions of the poets. It is customary for them to endow
their patron-kings with all the ideal virtues and to represent them
as the rulers of the whole world girdled by the four oceans. Such
general expressions must be discarded as of no historical value.
But greater value attaches to the specific enumerations of cam¬
paigns, victories, and conquests; for these documents were public
property, and their authors would be justly exposed to ridicule if
they had made categorical statements without any basis whatsoever.
Of course they were expected to exaggerate the achievements
of their masters, but even such exaggeration implies a sub¬
stratum of fact. A great deal of caution is therefore needed to
assess the proper value of the claims made on behalf of a king,
and they should be checked^ by all possible means. Such checks
are furnished by the statements made on behalf of the rival kings,
and sometimes welcome corroboration is afforded by independent
evidence.

In cases where the inscriptions are engraved on rocks or
objects not easily portable, their find-spots become of great impor¬
tance as indicating the territorial jurisdiction of the king. Some¬
times the records of vassal chiefs and finds of coins corroborate the
claims of territorial conquests. By these and other means it is
almost always possible to make legitimate inferences from these
documents about* the achievements of the kings.

The official documents, however, form only a very small pro¬
portion of the inscriptions. By far the' larger majority are private
records. They cover a wide range, from a short votive inscrip¬
tion of two or three words to pompous poetical compositions glori¬
fying an individual or family. They throw light on various
aspects of society even where they do not directly contribute to
political history. A good many are engraved on images of gods
and religious buildings, recording pious donations. These consti¬
tute the chief means of fixing the dates of these images and build¬
ings, and have been of incalculable help in tracing the evolution of
art and religion, and determining their general condition in any
specified period. Similarly the language and style of the inscrip¬
tions have been of immense value to the linguistic and literary
history of India. The evidence of the inscriptions, taken in mass,

THE VEDIC AGE

is unerring in these respects. If we analyse, for example, the 1500
or more inscriptions prior to the Gupta age that have so far come
to light, we find an overwhelmingly large number — more than 95
per cent — written in Prakrit and concerned with non-Brahmanical
religious sects, mainly Buddhist and Jain. The proportion is
almost just the reverse in favour of the Sanskrit language and the
Brahmanical religion, if we take the inscriptions of the period sub¬
sequent to the Gupta age. Even allowing for all accidental factors,
this one fact betokens a sweeping change in the life of the people
both in respect of the religious ideas and the medium of literary
expression.

These inscriptions also throw important light on political
history. Many of them refer to ruling kings otherwise unknown,
and some of them even supply dates, either in regnal years or in a
specified or unspecified era. This has been a prolific source of the
constant addition to our historical knowledge, though where supple¬
mentary evidence is lacking we know little more than the royal
name, his approximate date and the location of his kingdom. But
even such scraps of information, pieced together, have enabled* the
historian to reconstruct a clear outline of the history of a locality
or even of a definite period, of which little was known before.

In a few cases the private records throw more direct light on
the political history of India, as they emanate from persons closely
connected with a royal family. We have, for example, interesting
records of families whose members for generations held high offices
like ministers or generals. In others the importance of an indi¬
vidual is indicated by the office he held, or the part he played in
the affairs of state. These inscriptions, though issued by or in
honour of private individuals, therefore incidentally give us a
great deal of information about the kings and political condition of
the time.

On the whole it may be said without any hesitation that the
epigraphic records of ancient India have been the principal source
of our information regarding the political history, and have also
proved to be of great value by supplementing literary evidence in
regard to the social, religious, and economic condition of India.

2. Numismatics . — Next to the inscriptions, coins are the most
important source of the history of ancient India. Many thousands
of these have come to light. Hoards have been unearthed in dif¬
ferent parts of the country — a single hoard sometimes yielding
many thousands — and individual specimens have constantly been
found on or near the surface of ancient sitesl. Most of them at
first passed into the hands of private individuals, but a number
were recovered by scholars or acquired by public institutions.
There is no doubt, however, that quite a large proportion was

SOURCES OF INDIAN HISTORY

melted or otherwise lost to antiquarian study, and this deplorable
state of things is unfortunately still going^ on. A systematic study
and collection of coins has been possible only in cases of regular
archaeological excavations. Not only were many coins, otherwise
acquired, lost to us, but no systematic record has been kept of the
provenance of those which have survived. This has been a serious
handicap to the scientific study of the coinage, as much of the
historical importance of a coin is lost if we cannot determine the
exact locality of which it formed the currency.

The importance of numismatics for the study of the economic
condition of a country is too obvious to need a detailed considera¬
tion. Here we shall only indicate how coins have helped us to
reconstruct the political history of the various periods.

The earliest coins of India bear only figures, devices, or
symbols, but with few exceptions, no legends. These coins were
sometimes cast in dies, but more often the symbols were punched
on the metallic pieces. Sometimes there are many symbols, pun¬
ched at different times. They were most probably deliberately
stamped by the issuing authority, in order to guarantee their
genuineness and value. These authorities might have been kings
or states, but also certainly included individual merchants, trade-
guilds, city-corporations, and similar bodies, for the idea of a state
monopoly of minting coins was yet unknown. In the absence of
legends, it is impossible to allot the different coins to these differ¬
ent categories. The meaning of the figures and symbols, once
familiar to the people using these coins, is no longer clear to us,
though some of them are familiar objects or well-known conven¬
tional designs. Various suggestions have been made regarding
their significance, but they are highly speculative and rest on no
secure foundations. Apart from conveying some vague religious
ideas and artistic conventions these coins do not supply any histo¬
rical information. The rare legends on them refer to the mercan¬
tile corporations which issued them.

It is not till after the Greek invasion that we come across
coins with the names of kings clearly engraved on them. Except¬
ing, perhaps, a few coins of the time of Alexander, the most im¬
portant series of such coins were those issued by the Greek rulers
of Bactria who ultimately conquered the Punjab and North-West¬
ern Frontier. The artistic excellence of these coins has never
been surpassed in India, and the portraits of kings and other figures
on them show Hellenistic art at its best. These coins of the
Graeco-Bactrians set a new fashion and may be said to have revo¬
lutionized Indian numismatics. The most important feature added
to Indian coins from this time forward was the name, and some¬
times even the portrait, of the sovereign who issued them. How
greatly it has helped our knowledge of political history will be

THE VEDIC AGE

apparent from the fact that it is from these coins alone that we
know of nearly thirty Greek kings and queens who ruled in India.
The classical writers have referred to only four or five of them, but
not only were the names of the rest unknown to them, but even
the very memory of the Greek domination over a corner of India
for nearly two centuries was absolutely lost. This remarkable
historical episode, interesting alike to Greece and India, came to
the knowledge of the world, after nearly two thousand years, by
the discovery of those fine series of coins — of gold, silver, and
copper — which now adorn many public museums in Europe and
India.

The coinage of the Greeks was imitated by the Scythian and
Parthian invaders who followed in their footsteps, and although
the execution of their coins is far inferior, they are equally impor¬
tant for historical purposes. Here, too, the coins alone have enabled
us to reconstruct an outline of their history, and recover the names
of quite a large number of their rulers. One branch of the Scythian
invaders, who settled permanently in Gujarat and the Kathiawar
Peninsula, issued coins which not only gave the name of the ruling
king and that of his father, but very often also the date in the
well-known Saka era. This has enabled us to reconstruct the
history of the Western Satraps — as these rulers are called — for a
period of more than three hundred years. With the exception of a
few inscriptions and literary references, which otherwise would

have been of little helD. the coins have been the sole source of our

information regarding the Greeks, the Sakas and the Parthians
that entered India after the dissolution of the Mauryan Empire.
The Kushanas who followed them likewise issued a large number
of .coins, but the history of this dynasty is also known from other
sources.

The coins have also been the principal source of our informa¬
tion regarding the various Indian states — both monarchical and
republican — that flourished during the same period. Most of
them, like the Malavas. Yaudheyas. the Mitra rulers of Panchala
etc., are almost exclusively known from their coins. In other
cases, like the Satavahanas of the Deccan, the Puranic account is
corroborated, corrected, and supplemented by their coins and
inscriptions.

The Guptas, who founded the greatest emnire in Tndia after
the Maurvas. issued a lar^e varietv of fine coins. Although we
know a great deal of their history from eoigraphic records, the
coins form an important additional source of information.

With the downfall of the Guptas the numismatic evidence
ceases to be an important source of history. Isolated coins, here
and there, have no doubt proved to be of great value, but they
seldom afford us material information not otherwise available. It

SOURCES OF INDIAN HISTORY

is a curious fact that coins of even great emperors like Harsha or
ruling dynasties like the Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Pratlharas and
Palas, not to speak of lesser kings and dynasties, are either un¬
known or of little significance.

3. Monuments. — In addition to coins and inscriptions we have
other antiquarian remains, such as buildings or parts thereof,
statues of stone or metal, terra cotta, ornamental and decorative
fragments, pottery, and various other objects of a miscellaneous
character. They are of great importance in tracing the history and
evolution of Indian art. The art of a country is generally regarded
to be a fair index of its culture, and it throws light on some higher
aspects of its civilization which cannot be easily understood from
other sources. The remains of Indian monuments have thus con¬
siderably helped towards a proper appreciation of the life and spirit
of ancient India.

In addition to individual monuments, sometimes we have the
vast remains of an ancient city laid bare before us. Some of them,
like those of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, have opened before us
an altogether new type of civilization, reaching back to an age of
which no memorials in India were known before. This has carried
back the antiquity of Indian culture and civilization by several
thousands of years and opened up a new vista of its history, cha¬
racter, and association with the outside world. It has also trans¬
formed our ideas of the origin of Indian civilization. We can no
longer derive from the simple fact of the Aryan migration the com¬
plex structure of later Indian civilization, but must look for more
than one source which fed the mighty stream. Even in concrete
matters our ideas have undergone great changes. As an instance
may be cited the origin of the Brahmi script (used in the Asokan
records) which, as noted above, is the parent-stock from which all
Indian alphabets have been derived.

Scholars have almost unanimously held the view that Brahmi
was derived from a foreign source, though they widely differ about
its identity. But more than five hundred seals have been discover¬
ed at Mohenjo-daro which contain a species of pictorial writing.
This has not been deciphered yet, but the probability of the Brahmi
alphabet being derived from it is now being seriously considered.
Similarly the deep-rooted conviction that Indian art originated
from a foreign source not much earlier than the third century B.C..
has been considerably shaken by the discovery at Mohenjo-daro of
finely carved stone figures of the third millennium B.C. which
would not unfavourably compare with the statues of the classical
period in Athens. The archaeological excavation of the Indus valley
is still at its infancy, and we may look forward to its continuation

THE VEDIC AGE

as opening up a brilliant chapter of Indian history as yet unknown
or even undreamt of.

Coming down to historical times, the systematic excavations
of ancient sites like the city of Taxila or the monastic establishments
at Sarnath (near Benares) have thrown light upon various aspects
of life of which there is little or no record in literature. Such ex¬
cavations, as will be noted in the next chapter, have been few and
far between. Still, meagre though they are, compared with the
vast extent of the country, these archaeological excavations have
enabled us to realize some interesting aspects of Indian civilization
which would have been otherwise unknown.

C. Foreign Accounts

In addition to literature and archaeological remains we have
another interesting source of information in the accounts left by
foreign writers. The earliest among them are the two Greek
writers Herodotus and Ctesias, both of whom must have derived
their information indirectly through Persian sources. Herodotus
gives some useful information along with a great deal of fairy tales,
but the account of Ctesias largely consists of incredible fables. Far
greater interest attaches to the writings of those Greeks who accom¬
panied Alexander to India, and the account of Megasthenes, who lived
for some time in the court of Chandragupta Maurya as an ambassador
of Seleucus. Though these works are mostly lost, much has been
preserved in books, based upon them, written by later authors.
These accounts contain a great deal of information that is both inte¬
resting and authentic, but they suffer from the defects inherent in
the writings of foreigners, ignorant of the language and customs
of the country. While great importance naturally attaches to what
they recorded from personal observation, we must treat with great
reserve their accounts based on others’ reports or hearsay evidence.
Due allowance must also be made for the necessarily limited circle
within which a Greek must have moved in India, and his natural
proneness to see everything through Hellenic eyes and distort or
exaggerate anything that was strange or unfamiliar to him. Tt
would be foolish to belittle the importance of the classical accounts
of India, but it would be equally unwise to put implicit faith in
everything contained in them.

Special reference must be made to the classical writers who
have elucidated the geography and natural history of India. The
earliest of them is the anonymous author of the Periplus of the
Erythraean Sea. He was a Greek, settled in Egypt, who made a
voyage to the Indian coast about A.D. 80 and left a record of its
ports, harbours, and merchandise. This short account, full of in¬
teresting information, is worth its weight in gold, as it has preserv¬
ed from oblivion a phase of the trade and maritime activity in

SOURCES OF INDIAN HISTORY

ancient India, otherwise unknown. Ptolemy wrote a geographical
account of India in the second century A.D. on scientific lines. His
data being derived from secondary sources, he has fallen into nume¬
rous errors, and his general -conception of the shape of India
is also faulty in the extreme. Nevertheless the attempt was
praiseworthy and has supplied valuable information. The same
may be said of Pliny’s account of Indian animals, plants, and mine¬
rals written in the first century A.D. There were also many other
writers of a later date.

These classical accounts, most of which have been translated
into English by J. W. McCrindle, were generally prompted by a
spirit of exploration of unknown lands, and reflect great credit on
their authors and the scientific spirit of the age in which they lived.
The same spirit was displayed a few centuries later by Arab sailors
and merchants, some of whom, like Sulaiman and A1 Mas’udI, have
left brief records of India. The gap in the interval between the
two periods is filled by Chinese writers, both chroniclers at home
and pilgrims who visited India.

The writings of the Chinese travellers to India form a valuable
supplement to the classical accounts. Three of them, Fa-hien (fifth
century A. D.), Hiuen Tsang, and I-tsing (seventh century A.D.)
are better known than others, and have recorded their experiences
in fairly bulky volumes which are happily preserved in their original
forms and have been translated into English. All three spent a num¬
ber of years in India and learnt its language, and the first two
travelled widely almost all over the country. In these respects
they had an undoubted advantage over the Greek travellers. But
unfortunately for the historian of India, these eminent Chinese
visitors were all devout Buddhist monks, whose journey to India
was merely a pilgrimage to holy lands, and whose outlook was
purely religious. Neither Fa-hien nor I-tsing refer to secular matters,
except very incidentally, nor do they even mention the name of
the king or kings whose dominions were visited by them. Hiuen
Tsang is not so circumscribed, but gives some interesting infor¬
mation about his royal patron Harsha-vardhana and other contem¬
porary kings of India. He also briefly refers to the political con¬
dition of the kingdoms through which he passed, and devotes an
entire chapter to a general account of India. These are, no doubt,
very valuable, but they form only a very small part of his extensive
records which, like those of Fa-hien and I-tsing, are otherwise,
devoted to a minute and detailed description of Buddhism in India
—its rituals and practices, sanctuaries and memorials, sects and doc¬
trines, scriptures and traditions.

The Chinese travellers have rendered a great service by depict¬
ing the state of Buddhism in India. But devout pilgrims as they
were, their intense religious faith impaired to a certain extent their

THE VEDIC AGE

rational instincts and power of impartial observation. We must
therefore be on our guard against accepting as literally true all
their statements, especially those which concern the Buddhist faith
in any way, even when based on personal observation. Their judg¬
ment on men and things was warped, if not vitiated, by an absolute
and implicit faith in the superiority of Buddhism, and the too inti¬
mate, if not exclusive, association with men and institutions con¬
nected with that religion. Buddhism alone loomed large in their
eyes, everything else taking a subordinate and almost an insigni¬
ficant place. Such an attitude is hardly compatible with recording
an account that may be regarded as strictly historical.

From the eighth century A.D. India attracted the attention of
the Arab writers. Apart from the account of the Arab merchants
and sailors, the Indian borderland finds prominent mention in Arab
historical chronicles on account of the political aggrandisement of
that militant nation which culminated in the conquest of Sind early
in the eighth century A.D. Two and a half centuries later the
Ghaznavid Turks followed in the footsteps of the Arabs and carried
the banner of Islam far into the interior of India. India now figured
prominently in the Muslim chronicles. The best foreign account
of India that this age produced was written by Abu Rlhan, better
known as Alberuni, a contemporary of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni.
While the ruthless conqueror was harrying India by fire and sword,
destroying and plundering its cities and temples, the great Arabic
scholar engaged himself in studying the culture and civilization of
the country. He learned Sanskrit and studied its different branches
of literature. The bulky volume which he wrote is in many res¬
pects the most rational and comprehensive account of India ever
written by a foreigner until modern times. He is singularly free
from religious enthusiasm, bordering on fanaticism, and the racial
superiority-complex which mark the Muslim writings of the age.
He patiently laboured hard to acquire knowledge of Indian society
and culture in a laudable spirit of quest for truth, and brought to
his task a liberal and rational mind enriched by profound know¬
ledge, remarkable for his age. But from the point of view of Indian
history, Alberuni’s great work, highly valuable though it is, suffers
from two serious defects. In the first place, he says little or noth¬
ing of the political condition of India. Secondly, his account rests
primarily on his study of Indian literature, and is not based on per¬
sonal observations. In other words, he saw India, not with his own
eyes, but through literary works. Alberuni gives an admirable
survey of the mathematics, physics, chemistry, cosmogony, astro¬
nomy, astrology, geography, philosophy, religious rites, customs,
social ideas, etc., of India, but we feel at almost every step — and he
does not conceal the fact — that he is merely reproducing what he
read about these things in books written by Indian authors dead and

SOURCES OF INDIAN HISTORY

gone long ago, and draws little or no inspiration from the living
India of his age.

2. THE MEDIAEVAL PERIOD
(THIRTEENTH TO EIGHTEENTH CENTURY)

AlberunTs work closes a long series of accounts written by
foreigners about ancient India. Two centuries later the Muslim
Turks established their political supremacy over India, and intro¬
duced the art of compiling chronicles recording the political events
of the country. The earliest work of this kind, Tabaqat-i-Nasiri
by Minhaj-ud-din, composed in the middle of the thirteenth century
A.D., traces the history of Muslim rule in India from the very begin¬
ning with such fullness of detail as the author could derive from a
patient study of all the materials available to him. It was follow¬
ed by other works at regular intervals among which the following
deserve special mention: Ta*rikh-i-Firuz Sh&hi by Ziya-ud-dln Bararil
and Shams-i-Siraj ‘Aflf; Gulshan-i-lbrahimi by Muhammad Qasim
Firishta; Ain-i-Akbari and Akbar-n&ma by Abu’l-Fazl, Tabaq&t-i-
Akbari by Nizam-ud-dln Ahmad, and Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh by
*Abd-ul-Qadir Budauni.

There are besides a number of other works dealing with general
history as well as provincial states or particular individuals. A
fair idea of the nature and extent of these works may be had from
that excellent compendium — The History of India as told by Us
own Historians— compiled by Elliot and Dowson, in which an
attempt has been made to cover the history of the whole period by
extracts (in an English translation) from indigenous historical texts.

The autobiographies of the Mughal emperors Babur and Jahan¬
gir, and the biographies of other emperors, kings, and various gran¬
dees form a valuable supplement to regular historical works. A
part of the official correspondence, both of the Central Government
and of the various provinces and subordinate states, has also been
preserved.

Official despatches or the letters of military commanders, gov¬
ernors, and diplomatic agents are valuable sources of information,
and often give accurate dates and details not available from any
other source. Mention may also be made of court diaries and news-
reports. These contain reports of the occurrences and sayings at
the Public Durbars of Delhi and provincial courts which were taken
down by men specially employed for the purpose by subordinate
rulers or important officials. These form valuable materials for
the reconstruction of the history of the period, and the monumental
work Ain-i-Akbari gives a most detailed and comprehensive picture
of the complex administrative machinery set up by the great Mughal
emperor. The bardic chronicles of the Rajputs form an important

THE VEDIC AGE

class of historical documents concerning the Hindu states of Raj-
putana. It is unnecessary to dwell at length on these familiar
sources of history, as they will be reviewed in detail in lsiter parts
of this work.

The archaeological evidence of the period, highly valuable from
the point of view of the history of art, ceases to be of as much special
importance as in the ancient period for the purpose of political
history. The coins of the early rulers with their dates and mint-
marks, as well as inscriptions, often supply valuable additional
information, particularly in respect of provincial history which is
not so fully dealt with by the Court historians. But they are at
best valuable supplements, and save in rare instances, not the sole
or even principal sources of information.

The accounts of foreign travellers are also an important, though
supplementary, source for the history of this period. • One of the
earliest is Marco Polo who visited India and other parts of Asia
towards the close of the thirteenth century A.D. He does not, how¬
ever, tell us much of the political history. The most important in
this respect is Ibn Batuta, an African Muhammadan, who spent
several years in the court of Muhammad Tughluq. He returned
to his native country in A.D. 1349, after twenty-five years of travel,
full of adventures, in various parts of Asia. He has left a vivid
account of India of his time whose general accuracy there is no
reason to dispute. Another important traveller was Nicolo de’
Conti, the Venetian, in the fifteenth century. A number of other
European travellers in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries have
left interesting information about various parts of India, parti¬
cularly the powerful kingdom of Vijayanagar. For the Mughal
period the voluminous writings of European travellers, including
reports of Jesuit missionaries, and official despatches of the Portu¬
guese, French, and English trading settlements, supply a mass of
authentic information.

For the second period (A.D. 1200-1800), therefore, the histo¬
rian of India is no longer hampered by lack of material as in the
first or earlier period. He can trace the main outline of the poli¬
tical history with essential details, and has not to piece together frag¬
mentary data from coins and inscriptions by a tedious and laborious
process. His principal difficulty is to sift the truth from a mass of
data which sometimes contradict one another, and to assess correct¬
ly the statements of historians which are not infrequently coloured
by passions and prejudices. But these are difficulties which are
common to historians of all ages and countries.

3. THE MODERN PERIOD

It is unnecessary to say much on the materials for the history of
the modem period, as they present no unusual features. It should

SOURCES OF INDIAN HISTORY

be emphasized, however, that state-papers, i.e. contemporary official
documents, now take the chief place among these materials, as in
the case of European countries. Such state-papers are not altogether
wanting for the Mughal period, but they are, comparatively speak¬
ing, few in number and play a minor role in the construction of
the history of the period. From the eighteenth century they in¬
crease in volume and importance, and the Peshwa’s Daftars may be
cited as a striking example. With the establishment of the British
ascendancy these state-papers form the most elaborate and valuable
source of information. The servants of the East India Company
in India had to keep very detailed written records of their transac¬
tions and deliberations for the perusal of their masters in England,
and this fortunate circumstance has undoubtedly increased the mass
of documents which supply abundant historical material of first-
rate importance. The correspondence of the various Indian States
among themselves and with the British is also very valuable.
These materials have been partially lost, but a great deal has been
preserved and is now kept in the Imperial Records Office in Delhi
and the India Office in London. The Records Office in Delhi has
been recently reorganized, and proper arrangements have been
made for making the records available to students of history and
helping their study by means of classification, indexing, and printing
select documents. Numbers of important state papers in Provin¬
cial Record Offices, Indian States, and in private possession are also
gradually coming to light. These and other materials, to which
detailed reference will be made in due course, have considerably
facilitated the task of the historian of modern India.

CHAPTER HI

GENERAL REVIEW OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL
EXPLORATIONS AND EXCAVATIONS

In every country the historian is dependent upon the archaeo¬
logist lor information about periods to which written records do
not, go back* This particularly is the case in India, where practi¬
cally .the entire history ©f the ' pre-Muslim period is built up on the
study of materials recovered by the investigator and excavator
during the last century and a hail. The splendid achievements of
Indian culture throughout the ages were unfortunately not matched
by a sense of historical and geographical accuracy, and except for
the metrical chronicle of Kashmir, no other sober history is available
for the whole sub-continent. The Muslim period witnessed a mark¬
ed interest in the recording of contemporary history, and occasional¬
ly an exceptional monarch such as Firuz Shah Tughluq (1351-1388)
even made an attempt to explore and preserve ancient relics such
as the inscribed pillars of Asoka, but without any tangible result.
The study of Indian antiquities was, however, initiated in Bengal
soon after the establishment, of British power by scholars like Sir
William Jones, who founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1784.
At first, only linguistic and literary researches occupied the Society's
attention. With the turning of the century, a comprehensive sur¬
vey of the country was started under the orders of the East India
Company, and Dr. Buchanan Hamilton was the first explorer who
carried out this task first in Mysore and Southern India, and then
1st, North Bengal, Bihar, and Assam, in the second decade of ihe
nineteenth century. His report contains the earliest notices of
Indian antiquities, and these are recorded with great accuracy and
sound judgment. In* Western India the caves of Ajanta, Elephants,
and Kanheri were also discovered and described before the turn of
the twenties.

The labours of these pioneers brought to light a number of
ancient inscriptions recorded on rocks and pillars, but these were
written in a script which no one could read. They thus remained
a sealed book to scholars till their mystery was solved by James
Prinsep in 1837. Prinsep, who was then Secretary of the Asiatic
Society of Bengal, has left an interesting account of this great dis¬
covery. It is a romance of archaeology fit to rank by the side’ of
the decipherment of the hieroglyphic and cuneiform scripts. For
seven years* we are told, Prinsep spread before him, every morning,
the estampages of the inscriptions collected from different parts of
India and wistfully gazed at the unknown alphabets which con-

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS AND EXCAVATIONS

cealed the mystery of India’s past. At last the numerous short
votive records on the famous stupa at Sanchl gave him the key.
How he hit upon it, almost 'by a lucky chance, may best be told in
his own words, as recorded in Volume VI of the Journal of the
Asiatic Society of Bengal (p p. 460-77, 566-609).

. “In laying open a discovery of this nature, some little expla¬
nation is generally expected of the means by which it has been
attained. Like most other inventions, when once found it appears
extremely simple; and as in most others, accident, rather than study,
has had the merit of solving the enigma which has so long baffled the
learned.

“While arranging and lithographing the numerous scraps of facsi¬
miles, for Plate XXVII [i.e. the Sanchl inscriptions] I was struck at
their all terminating with the same two letters, JL Coupling this
circumstance with their extreme brevity and insulated position,
which proved that they could not be fragments of a continuous text,
it immediately occurred that they must record either obituary
notices, or more probably the offerings and presents of votaries, as
is known to be the present custom in the Buddhist temples of Ava;
where numerous dhwajas or flag-staffs, images and small chaityas
are crowded within the enclosure, surrounding the chief cupola,
each7 bearing the name of the donor. The next point noted was the

frequent occurrence of the letter / [j, already set down incontes-

.. -

tably as s, before the final word: now this I had learnt from the
Saurdshpra coins, deciphered only a day or two before, to be one
sign of the genitive case singular, being the ssa of the Pali, or sya
of the Sanscrit. ‘Of so and so the gift,’ must then be the form of
each brief sentence; and the vowel d and anusuxira led to the speedy
recognition of the word danam (gift) teaching me the very two letters,
d and n, most different from the known forms, and which had foiled
me most in my former attempts. Since 1834 also my acquaintance
with ancient alphabets had become so familiar that most of the
remaining letters in the present examples could be named at once
on re-inspection. In the course of a few minutes I thus became
possessed of the whole alphabet, which I tested by applying it to
the inscription on the Delhi column.”

Prinsep then applied, with success, the Sanchl alphabet, as he
called it, to the Buddhist group of ancient coins and to other in¬
scriptions, particularly those on the lats, meaning the A£okan Edict
columns, in Upper India, and gave an analysis of the alphabet.
Next, by the application of the alphabet to the inscriptions on the
celebrated A&okan pillars at Delhi and Allahabad, he gave detailed
readings and interpretations of these inscriptions. Thus was the
master-key of the ancient Brahmi alphabet discovered.

Prinsep’s great discovery ushered in a new era by lifting the

THE VEDIC AGE

veil from the earlier Indian inscriptions, and laid the foundation of
research in Indian history and practically every branch of Indian
archaeology. Hereafter it became possible to evaluate each dis¬
covery and assign it to its proper period by a systematic study of
contemporary writings. Scholars like Fergusson, Cunningham,
Dr. Bhau Daji, and Dr. Rajendra Lai Mitra handed on the torch
lighted by Prinsep, and built up the foundations of our present
knowledge of Indian architecture, Indian geography, Indian coins
and other branches of Indology during the next generation.

The first official step taken by the Government of India was
the appointment of General Alexander Cunningham as Archaeolo¬
gical Surveyor to the Government in 1862. This was due to the
initiative of Lord Canning, who for the first time realized that the
British Government had a duty towards India in rescuing from
oblivion her splendid heritage of the past. The choice of so genuine
a lover of Indian antiquities as General Cunningham for this pioneer
work of exploration and research was very happy, and the record
of his devoted labours for nearly half a century, extending over a
vast field covering almost every branch of knowledge^ is in many
ways unique. Starting with the data supplied by the Greek his¬
torians and the Chinese travellers, he laid the foundations of an
exact knowledge of ancient Indian geography by personal investiga¬
tions and an almost uncanny gift of spotting and identification of
ancient sites. His unrivalled knowledge of Indian coins,
particularly those of the north-west, laid the foundation of
Indian numismatics, which still has to depend upon his published
works in certain branches. Many of his speculations and conjectures
may not have been confirmed by subsequent research, but this can
be excused in a pioneer who covered so much new ground in half
# dozen different fields. Such digging as was attempted at places
like Bodh Gaya, Bharhut, Sanchl, Sarnath, and Taxila cannot be
considered as systematic excavation, but we must remember that
the science of archaeology had not then developed anywhere else
beyond quarrying for sensational finds.

After Cunningham’s retirement followed a period of nearly
fifteen years in which no clear archaeological policy was laid down
or followed, although Dr. Burgess and his colleagues were able to
publish excellent volumes on the results of the Surveys, mostly of
Western Indian caves as also in Southern India. Provincial surveys
on a very limited scale and without any central direction or support
could accomplish little, but in the closing years of the last century,
Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India, ushered in a new era for Indian
archaeology. He accepted the encouragement of research and the
promotion of archaeological study as a duty and obligation which
Government owed to this ancient country and established a Central
Department of Archaeology. Thereafter, the course of archaeology

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS AND EXCAVATIONS

has been fairly continuous, though subject to periodic stimulation
and depression.

The Department contained several keen and sound Sanskrit
scholars of various nationalities, notably Dr, Vogel, Dr. Stein,
Dr. Bloch, and afterwards Dr. Spooner, all of whom were very much
interested in archaeological exploration; but none of them had the
benefit of taking actual part in tne work of excavation as Dr. Marshall
(.afterwards Sir John), the newly appointed Director General of
Archaeology, had in Greece before his appointment. His direction
and guidance soon proved to be of the greatest benefit to Indian
archaeology, and not only did the European officers of the Depart¬
ment hereafter take a share in the work of excavation, but young
Indian probationers were enlisted for training as they were even¬
tually to replace scholars from abroad. In the first few years
(1903-12) the programme of excavation largely centred round such
famous Buddhist sites as Sanchi, Sarnath, Kasia- (Kusinagara) and -
Sahefc Mahet (Sravasti). City-sites like Charsadda (Pushkalavatl) near
Mar dan, Bhi|a near Allahabad, Basarh (Vais all) near Muzaffarpur,
and Rajgir the ancient capital of Magadha, were also touched but
not persisted in, although they yielded sufficient finds of great im¬
portance for the reconstruction of cultural history. The reason for ,
this, as explained by Sir John Marshall himself, was that the re¬
searches of the earlier generation of archaeologists had thrown
more light on Buddhist antiquities, and besides there was a greater
chance of making some spectacular finds in the Buddhist sites than
in the more extensive city-sites where it is difficult to locate spots
of special importance. Buddhist sites, generally clustered around
lofty stupas and readily recognizable from their configuration, are
certainly easier to excavate and there is greater probability of making
such sensational finds as, for example, the relics of the Buddha
enshrined by Kanishka in the stupa near Peshawar city. At Sarnath,
the famous lion capital of an Asokan pillar and the great sculptural
wealth of the Gupta empire were among the sensational discoveries
made.

The idea of bringing to light the successive cultural periods of
Indian history by regular excavations at city-sites was entertained
about 1912, when Sir John Marshall took up his work at Taxila
which was to continue for over two decades. At Pataliputra (Patna)
Dr. Spooner began in 1913 his examination of the ancient Maury an
capital which was to continue for a number of years, thanks to the
liberality of Sir Ratan Tata who provided the entire funds. Un¬
fortunately the latter site, being waterlogged and buried deep under
alluvium, did not yield proportionately large results. Strangely
enough, some of the most striking finds came from the lower levels
exposed in the course of sewage operations and foundations of
modem buildings. The excavations at Taxila, on the other hand,

V.A*— 8

THE VED1C AGE

have yielded steadily growing material which has fulfilled the
expectations raised by a city-site situated on the main highway
from the north-west, forming, as it were, the crucible in which
Indian culture was blended with that of other races coming from
that direction during the three or four centuries on either side of
the Christian era. The most comprehensive operations ever carried
out at any single site in India are those at Taxila, where about a
dozen sites have been excavated within an area of some 25 square
miles, embracing three separate cities and half a dozen large Buddhist
establishments. The earliest city going back to the Mauryan .period
is that under the Bhir mound, which was superseded by the second
and most important city at the site of Sirkap, founded by the Indo-
Greek rulers and inhabited during the Indo-Greek and the 6 aka
periods. The wealth of finds, mainly from the second city, that
enriches the museum established -on the site makes it the most
attractive archaeological collection in the country.

While the lay-out of the Mauryan city was irregular and the
construction unimpressive, the second town, with its regularly ar¬
ranged streets and lanes and well-built houses with spacious rooms
and courtyards, is one of the best preserved ancient cities, the relics
found being among the most representative and valuable dug out
anywhere in India. Among the religious sites at Taxila the most
prominent and extensive is the Dharmarajika stupa, said to have
been founded by the great Aioka and built over during successive
ages and surrounded by scores of smaller stupas , chapels, and large
monasteries. Some of the retreats for the Buddhist monks perched
on the neighbouring hillocks, such as those at Jauiian, Kalawan,
and Mohra Moradu, provide ample evidence of the flourishing state
of Buddhism in the palmy days of Taxila, which came to ah end
at the close of the fifth century A.D. with the. invasions of the
Huna hordes.

World War I interfered with the progress of exploration, as it
was not possible for the Government to spare funds for scientific
research. However, the Royal Asiatic Society of London sanctioned
a small , grant for the excavation of the great Buddhist site of
Nalanda, and this enabled Dr. Spooner to commence work in 1917
which continued unabated for nearly two decades. Besides the
complex of stupas, temples, and monasteries brought to light in the
course of these excavations, Nalanda has yielded unique bronzes
and sculptures of great artistic merit as well as inscriptions which
have thrown a flood of light on the history of Northern India and
the development of Buddhism in Eastern India. The main building
here shows signs of having been enlarged and rebuilt no less than
seven times, and some of the monasteries show at least three periods
of occupation and reconstruction. Nalanda has been the main centre
of archaeological work in Bihar since it was taken up nearly thirty

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS AND EXCAVATIONS

years ago. Rajgir (ancient Rajagyiha) has also yielded some re¬
markable finds, notably from the site known as Maniyar Math, but
no large-scale examination of this ancient city, one of the earliest
historical capitals of India, has yet bean attempted.

An epoch-making discovery which changed the course of Indian
Archaeology and pushed back Indian antiquities from the Buddhist
to prehistoric times was made in 1922-23 when Mr. R. D. Banerji,
excavating the ruins of a Buddhist establishment at Mohenjo-daro
in Sind, lighted upon certain inscribed seals with pictographic
characters which were till then known only from the. site of Harappa
in the Punjab. The full significance of the discovery was not
apparent till two years later, when a comparison of the finds from
both the sites convinced Sir John Marshall that they belonged to a
prehistoric civilization far earlier than any known so far. Although
at first labelled Indo- Sumerian, owing to its obvious affinities with
the Sumerian civilization of the third millennium B.C., the newly
discovered civilization was subsequently renamed after the Indus
Valley, as it was found to be its main habitat. The discoveries stimu¬
lated public interest in Indian Archaeology to an unprecedented
degree, and the Government of India began to finance liberally
schemes of archaeological exploration and research in the different
parts of India. For about seven years from 1924-25 the Government
grant for exploration gradually rose until it reached the figure of
two and a half lakhs which has been the high-water mark in this
country. For this the discoveries at Mohenjo-daro are mainly res¬
ponsible, and under that name is epitomized the progress of Indian
Archaeology during the last two decades.

Preliminary excavations were carried on at a large number of
sites in Sind and archaeological explorations were extended even
to distant parts of Baluchistan (see Map 2). But these subsequent
researches have failed to shed any considerable light on the manner
in which this well-developed city civilization of the Indus Valley
sprang up, as if from howhere, and also about its equally inexplicable
disappearance without leaving any considerable traces of its survival
in the Indus Valley or its surrounding regions. Some seven epochs,
either slightly earlier or slightly later than the main stream of
culture presented by Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, hayb been identi
fied, but all of them -together do not help to bridge the wide gull
between this chalcolithic civilization and that of the historic period
which flourished in the upper and middle Gangetic basin from the
middle of the first millennium B.C. This indeed is one of the most
important tasks before Indian archaeology, and demands a great
deal of patient and systematic work over a number of years. Field
research of this type cannot be attempted by compartments but will
require an all-India organization with ample resources at its back
and co-operation of various regional units.

THE VJEJDIC AGE

The initial success of the Archaeological Department of the
Government of India induced many of the Indian States to open their
own Archaeological Departments. We shall now review the position
regarding exploration in each province and important state. In the
province of Sind, which leaped into prominence with the Indus
Valley discoveries, the record of archaeology is still very meagre,
apart from the Indus Valley finds. Besides a few Buddhist stupas
and monasteries, mostly assignable to the Gupta period as at Mirpur
Khas, none of the remains can be assigned to a period earlier than
the Arab invasion in the eighth century. One reason for this must
have been the gradual desiccation of the lower Indus Valley. The
main interest of the province will therefore vest in the large number
of sites of the prehistoric period, scattered over its western half,
which have not yet been adequately explored.

In the North-West Frontier Province the great Buddhist sites
of Sahr-i-Bahlol, Takht-i-Bahi, and Jamalgarhi have yielded valuable
treasures. They fill the local museum at Peshawar, which is natu¬
rally the most important for the Graeco-Buddhist school of Gan-
dhara. The whole district of Peshawar teems with mounds which

are being fast levelled by cultivators to the great detriment of
science.

In the Punjab, Harappa and Taxila have been the most im¬
portant centres of archaeological works so far. The province, how¬
ever, possesses very interesting possibilities of exploration in the
earlier phases of culture. The De Terra expedition, which came to
study the Ice Age in Kashmir and the Punjab foot-hills, brought to
light important palaeolithic industries in the Soan valley which con¬
stitute the earliest relics of the Stone Age in the north. The find
of a small isolated site of the Indus period near Rupar in the Sutlej
Valley, coupled with the presence of a number of mounds in the
submontane region of Ambala, gives the hope that further interesting
discoveries concerning the extension of the Indus Valley culture
and its survival may be made in this region.

Kashmir, the beautiful valley in the lap of the Himalayas, is the
only part of India for which, as noted before, an indigenous written
history is available for the pre-Muslim period. The task of identi¬
fication of the many historical places mentioned in Kalhana’s Chro¬
nicle fell to Sir Aurel Stein, who successfully accomplished it and
thereby laid the foundation of his world-wide fame as an explorer
and archaeologist. When the Government of Kashmir opened an
Archaeological Department in 1922, it turned its attention to the
ancient sites, and eventually some of these were excavated, the
result being in most cases a confirmation of Stein’s painstaking
examination of Kalhana.

The most interesting remains discovered are those of a Buddhist
settlement of Kusha^a period at Harwan (ancient Shatfahradvana )

ARCHAEOLOGICAL, EXPLORATIONS AND EXCAVATIONS

consisting of a stupa and monasteries on a hill slope with unique
terra-cotta plaques ornamenting the walls. Ushkar or Hu vis hkapura
was another early Buddhist site (named after the well-known
Kushana emperor) where investigation brought to light an early
stupa built in- the eighth century. Other sites where excavation
was carried out are Parihaspur, Avantipur and the well-known
Martand, all belonging to the period from sixth to ninth century A.D.

The United Provinces, constituting throughout the historic
period “the middle country” (Madhyadesa) or the heart of the Indian
sub-continent, hold the key to the solution of many a problem con¬
cerning the development of Indian culture. The vestiges of human
occupation from the earliest times to the present day can be recog¬
nized here in the shape of mounds representing such famous cities
of old as Mathura, Varanasi, ^ravastl, KauiambI and Ahichchhatra.
Mathura and its neighbourhood have yielded to the digger the
largest number of sculptural treasures, but systematic excavations
in the modern sense have not been attempted on a proper scale.
The small antiquities from the ancient site of Kauiambi, picked up
by casual visitors, are more artistic and more numerous than those
found anywhere else.

It is by systematic work on the city mounds that Indian archaeo¬
logy can hope to lay the foundation of a more comprehensive
knowledge of Indian antiquities. Such work was commenced at
the site of Ahichchhatra in 1941-42 and continued for three seasons,
with the object of separating and classifying the different strata of
buildings and studying the finds associated with each cultural
layer. As a result, the pottery, terra-cottas, and minor antiauities
found in the excavation of the ancient cities of Northern India can
now be assuredly relegated to definite historic periods such as
Maurva. 6uiiga, Kushana. Gupta and Medieval, on the reliable basis
of archaeological stratification instead of merely on grounds of
style. One great desideratum to which attention has been drawn
by critics from abroad is the absence of a properly classified corpus
of Indian pottery through the ages. For this, ample material has
now been collected from the Ahichchhatra excavation and from
other regular excavations, though on a smaller scale, carried out at
such sites as Raj ghat (Benares), Mathura, and one or two sites in
the Punjab and north-west. The continental nature of the civili¬
zation of North India makes it inevitable that in each of the main
periods the standard form adopted by the craftsmen of the central
parts should be the guide for other .regions, no doubt with local
variations. In certain special periods such as the Mauryan, when
the Imperial influence radiated from the capital, it has been found
that the special black glazed ware must have been centrally manu¬
factured and specimens exported to outlying districts.

Apart from this the characteristic grey ware of the Sunga period.

THE VEDIC AGE

the variety of forms prevalent in Kushana times, and the beautiful
decorated pottery of the Guptas can now hardly be mistaken, al¬
though they may have been manufactured in places as distant from
each other as the Punjab and Bengal. The value of the accurate
dating of pottery, which is the most abundant material found in
surface explorations, has now been sufficiently realized, and this
opens the way to a better approximation of the age of surface re¬
mains in the absence of such datable material as coins and inscrip¬
tions which are not always forthcoming.

In Bengal archaeological excavation has added a new chapter
to the cultural history of the province where relics of the pre-
Muhammadan period were almost non-existent on the surface. This
was at the great site of Paharpur in the Raj shah i district which
took the best part of a decade to excavate and preserve. Here the
most remarkable find is the gigantic Buddhist establishment con¬
sisting of a towering central temple rising in terraces and surrounded
by a vast quadrangle of monastic cells. The plan of the temple
showing a grand square cross with projections between the arms,
and the scheme of decoration of the walls by rows of terra-cotta
plaques interspersed by fine stone images, have thrown a flood of
light on the early history of art and architecture in Bengal. Some
work has. also been attempted at Mahasthana, the site of ancient
Pundravardhana, and at Bangarh, ancient Kotivarsha, two important
cities of North Bengal. The latter work, conducted by the Univer¬
sity of Calcutta, constitutes the only attempt made by an Indian
University in the field of excavation, which has been thrown open
to non-official effort by virtue of an amendment of the Ancient
Monument Preservation Act passed by the Central Legislature in
1933. The casual removal of earth for erecting military establish¬
ments during World War II has brought to light many remains of
ancient structures in the Mainamati Hill near Comilla. A preli¬
minary survey indicates that they are the remnants of Buddhist
establishments comparable to those of Paharpur, but no systematic
excavation has yet taken place in this region.

In the provinces of Assam and Orissa the efforts of archaeolo¬
gists have so far been confined to the investigation of standing
monuments and existing ruins. ,

The Central Provinces and Central India constitute the richest
field for epigraphieal discoveries, but no systematic excavation of
ancient sites has so far been attempted in the Central Provinces.
In Central India good work has been carried on ip Gwalior State
where the remains of the ancient cities of Vidi&a (Besnagar), Pad-
mavati (Padpia-Pav/aya) , and Ujjain have been excavated by the
state archaeological department. The great site of Sanchl in Bhopal
has been well excavated by Sir John Marshall. There is a great scope
for the detailed investigation of remains, both of the historic and

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS AND EXCAVATIONS

prehistoric periods, particularly in the basin of the Narmada river
which has already yielded remains of palaeolithic and microlithic
industries.

In Rajputana, the late Sir Aurel Stein’s examination of the
dried bed of Hakra (ancient Sarasvatl) has brought to light a number
of pre-historic sites in the Bikaner and particularly B^hawalpur
States. Systematic excavation in Rajputana is confined to Jaipur where
the ancient sites of Bairat, Rairh, and Sambhar have yielded a large
number of antiquities, including hoards of punch-marked coins and
terra-cotta figurines. Bairat has a unique circular temple of the
Mauryan times, and Rairh appears to have been a flourishing metal¬
lurgical centre and trade mart. The most extensive site in Jaipur
is the city of Nagar or Karkotnagar, now represented by extensive
mounds recently taken up for excavation which, if carried through,
is sure to shed light on the history of the Malava tribe whose capital
it was.

An important undertaking, recently initiated by the Archaeo¬
logical Department and now taken over by the Ancient History De¬
partment of the Deccan College Research Institute, Poona, is the
expedition which has investigated the prehistoric remains in Gujarat.
This expedition, undertaken at first with a view to determine the
relation of the paleolithic and neolithic remains found in the Sabar-
mati valley by Bruce Foote, the pioneer of Indian prehistory, has
succeeded in bringing to light at Langhnaj, near Mehsana, Baroda,
State, skeleton remains in an advanced stage of calcination in asso¬
ciation with microlithic implements. The success of the expedition
has induced help from the Tata Trust fund, and the further conti¬
nuance of the work by a non-official body like the Institute ist thus
assured. Minor excavations at various ancient sites such as Anhil-
pur, Patan, Amreli, and Mul Dwaraka were carried out by the
Archaeological Department of the Baroda State.

In the Province of Bombay the prevalence of trap throughout
the Maharashtra area accounts for the paucity of stratified accumu¬
lations at ancient sites. In portions of the Karnatak district of
Bijapur recent examination of the surface has brought to light the
existence of several strata going back to the pre-Mauryan age. Re¬
cent work at the ancient city of Kolhapur has also yielded conside¬
rable material of the Satavahana and later periods, incidentally
throwing light on contacts with Rome.

The most important centres of Satavahana power were in the
Deccan, and it is there that we must look for further extensive evi¬
dence of culture in the Satavahana period. The Hyderabad Gov¬
ernment has conducted excavations in the ancient capital of Paithan
(Pratishthanal and more recently at Kondapur in the Bidar district.
The latter site is a veritable mine of antiquities which include
numerous specimens of all types such as terra-cotta and stucco

THE VEDIC AGE

figures, coins and medals numbering several thousand, and pottery.
The material discovered here and at the great site of Maski has not
yet been adequately studied, and it is essential that it should be
properly published if its scientific value is to be enhanced. The
Archaeological Department of the Hyderabad State, started in 1915,
has recently taken up the programme of archaeological exploration
and excavation, and it may be confidently hoped that its work will
be commensurate with the great importance of the remains situat¬
ed in the dominions.

Mysore led the way among Indian States in archaeological in¬
vestigation by starting a regular department over- sixty years ago.
At first the activities of the Department were concentrated on a
survey of the epigraphic material in which the state abounds, and
on which the history of the dynasties that ruled Mysore is almost
wholly based. Latterly some attention has been devoted Ip the ex¬
cavation of ancient sites of which two have proved to be of very
great value. The site of Chandravali near Chitaldrug was exca¬
vated in 1928 and shows several strata of occupation in which the
Satavahana period seems to be most important. Brahmagiri, in the
northernmost part of Mysore, shows not only the relics of the Maur-
yan town of Isila, but also those of later historic periods, and, what
is more, was founded on earlier settlements of microlithic age.

In the Madras Presidency, the vast number of existing temples
and inscriptions have absorbed the main attention of the Archaeo¬
logical Survey. Although the number of sites of every period are
numerous, excavation has so far been attempted only in some of the
Buddhist sites in the northern districts and the well-known pre¬
historic burials at Adichanallur in the extreme south. Of the Bud¬
dhist sites the most important are those in the Krishna valley in
which the local rulers of the Ikshvaku dynasty seem to have patro¬
nized art in a larger measure than any of their predecessors. Many
ancient monuments before the organization of the Archaeological
Department, such as the Amaravatl stupa in the Guntur district,
had already been well nigh destroyed by villagers and other vandals
and their sculptures distributed among different museums, includ¬
ing the British Museum. Recently the discovery of an important
site at Nagarjunikonda has to some extent made up for the loss.
Systematic excavation has brought to light another group of stupas
and monasteries, arranged in a characteristic manner, which have
yielded a vast number of sculptures and inscriptions. The site is
beautifully situated in the Krishna valley and was anciently known
as Sri-Parvata. A local museum has been built on the spot for
housing the sculptures and architectural specimens unearthed.
Some work was done recently at the site of Virampattanam, near
Pondicherry, the seaport in which, as in many other south Indian
sites, evidences of commercial contacts with Rome during the

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS AND EXCAVATIONS

Imperial period are abundant. The problem of Megalithic burials in
South India is vast and complicated, and much damage has already
been inflicted by ill-advised digging on the gTaves associated with
stone circles, urn burials, sarcophagi, etc., which occur over exten¬
sive areas in Southern India. At Adichanallur a large number of
antiquities; including iron swords, daggers, gold and bronze diadems,
bronze vessels and animal figures, etc., were found, along with a
large amount of red-and-black polished pottery, forming the accom¬
paniments of the burials.

The whole subject has now been assiduously studied and we can
expect the results of these studies to throw light on the movement
and settlement of different types of people in the Peninsula. The
entire field of palaeolithic, neolithic, and megalithic as well as iron
age cultures in Southern India is so vast, and transcends in interest
investigations relating to the historic periods, that it is likely to
form a major preoccupation for several years. The states of
Southern India, including Travancore, Cochin, and Pudukottai,
have each its own contribution to make to this subject, not to speak
of the larger states of Hyderabad and Mysore.

No account of the activities of Indian exploration can be com¬
plete without reference to the work carried out in what may be
called Greater India. The most brilliant work carried out by the
late Sir Aurel Stein constitutes the greatest achievement that can
fall to the lot of a single scholar and explorer. Sir Aurel Stein’s
activities were spread over a very wide field, including Baluchistan,
Iran, and the border lands of India. But his most famous explora¬
tions were conducted in Chinese Turkistan. In the course of the
several expeditions which Sir Aurel Stein carried out for the Gov¬
ernment of India, he discovered numerous relics of the ancient civi¬
lization which developed in the region. These have been preserved
in the dry sandy wastes and show the highly important part which
India played in the Far East, and the way in which Indian cultural
influences were spread there. The state of preservation of the fresco
paintings in the Buddhist temples, wooden, silk, and paper docu¬
ments, and other perishable objects is remarkable. These objects,
recovered from Central Asia, have been carefully brought back and
preserved in a special museum erected at New Delhi by the Govern¬
ment of India.

In Burma, which formed part of India till ten years ago, acti¬
vities were mostly confined to the centres of Prome, Pegu, and
Pagan. Excavation has been generally confined to opening up small
mounds lying in abundance at these centres, particularly Prome,
marking the sites of old stupas or temples. The earliest finds are
those at Prome in which Indian influence is very prominent. Al¬
though Hinayana Buddhism and the Pali tradition have now acquired
a great hold on Burmese Buddhism, it is clear that a large propor-

THE VEDIC AGE

tion of the earlier colonizers were followers of the Mahayana sect
and the Brahmanical religion, and it was not till a comparatively
later period that the Hxnayana triumphed over its rivals. Bilin¬
gual inscriptions from Prome show the language of the old Pyu
inhabitants side by side with Sanskrit. At Pagan excavations have
brought to light a number of finds belonging to the eleventh and
twelfth centuries, when modern Burmese culture may be said to
have originated. At this period Burma was subject to a great deal
of influence from India, especially Bengal, in sculpture, painting,
terra-cotta, and architecture. It has now been well established
that the plannihg and scheme of decoration of Burmese temples and
pagodas is based on Indian prototypes developed in the alluvial
plains of Northern India for centuries.

In the Malay Peninsula exploration work has not proceeded
on a large scale, but whatever has been done shows a strong Indian
influence in the beginning of cultural history. The existence of the
great, &rl- Vi jay a Kingdom in Indonesia, and its paramount influence
over i the islands in the Netherlands Indies, has now been clearly
established by researches. The great monuments in Java, belong¬
ing la the Brahmanical as well as Buddhist faiths, such as the Bara-
budur, Chan^i Sewu, and Chaodi Lara-Jongnang amply demons¬
trate the extent of Indian culture. Lastly, reference may be made
to the researches and explorations of the French archaeologists in
Indo-China wliich have thrown a flood of light on Indian colonies
of Champa (Annam), Kambuja (Cambodia), and D vara vat I (Siam),
and led to the discovery of such monuments as Angkor Vat and
Angkor Thom of world-wide fame.

In Ceylon there is yet a vast field for exploration and excava¬
tion, but work so far has been mainly confined to the ancient capi¬
tals of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. Originally European
scholars were in charge of the work, but a properly trained Cey¬
lonese scholar has now been appointed Archaeological Commis¬
sioner t and he is responsible for the excellent work done at th6
hill site of Mihintale stupa which is reminiscent of Sanchi. Several

of the religious sites at Anuradhapura have received attention, but
the vast remains of the ancient city have not yet been tackled. A
large number of smaller sites in the south of the island have yet
to be explored, specially for prehistoric remains in which Ceylon
seems to be particularly rich, and a good beginning has been made
in this direction by the Director Of Museums in Ceylon. Of all
countries bordering on India, Ceylon is the most intimately con¬
nected with her culture both in the prehistoric and historic periods,
and it is but natural that research in both countries should go hand
in hand in close co-operation.

Afghanistan has in several periods of its history formed part
of India, and some of its most striking remains, as at Hadda, testify

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS AND EXCAVATIONS

to the influence of Buddhism in that country. Some of the most
important contributions to early Indian Epigraphy and Numisma¬
tics were based on finds made in Afghanistan. Recently a French
mission conducted a series of excavations at Begram and other
places which have thrown considerable light on its Indian connec¬
tions.

In conclusion it may be observed that while archaeological ex¬
ploration has been placed on a fairly strong foundation in this
country and much has been achieved so far in bringing to light and
interpreting first-rate material for the reconstruction of India's
ancient history, a good deal yet remains to be done, and it would
require the unabated efforts of generations of properly equipped
archaeologists to bring the task to a reasonable state of complete¬
ness. While interest in the subject should be progressively widened
throughout the length and breadth of this country, it is necessary
that proper co-ordination should be established and much more
financial support assured. Above all it is essential that a strong
centre should foster and guide the activities of workers throughout
the country. Indian unity, as exemplified throughout its history,
is all the more necessary in the study of India's past, and any com¬
partments] treatment is bound to result in stagnation. Through
the immensity and diversity of India there runs a thread of unity
which must be kept in view in any attempt to organise work for
the systematic investigation of the past, and it is hoped that this
consideration will never be lost sight of.

CHAPTER IV

THE GEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND OF

INDIAN HISTORY

It is a truism that the course of human history in a region is,
in a considerable measure, shaped by its physical and geographical
features, which, in turn, in the ultimate, are determined by the
geological history the region has passed through in the dim vista
of time. Five thousand to ten thousand years ago North India
must have offered to the early settlers fr6m Asia, whatever race they
belonged to, or from wherever they came, a congenial habitat, in
pleasing contrast to the arid and inhospitable steppes of the Aralo-
Caspian region, or the rugged mountains of the I ran- Af ghanistan-
Turkistan plateau. This migration to a quite new physical environ¬
ment could not but have influenced and largely shaped the trend
of history and civilization of the races involved.

Of the three natural physical divisions of India, as we shall see
in the sequel, the part which was most suitable for human occupation
and to function as the nursery of civilization is the great central tract
of the Indo-Gangetic plains. Here were present all factors favour¬
able for life — climate, food-supply, water, and vegetation. This
vast expanse of flat alluvial plains of high fertility, watered by a
number of perennial rivers, deriving their fertilizing waters from
the snows of the Himalayas, must have attracted hordes of migra¬
tory peoples in successive waves from many parts of Western and
Central Asia. The great alluvial plains of India extending from
Sind through northern Raj pu tana, Punjab, U.P., Bihar, and Bengal
to Assam, an area of over 300.000 square miles, must have offered,
as the centuries passed by, an exceedingly delectable home to early
man long before the earliest beginnings of recorded history. But
the geological beginnings of the sub-continent of India, as we know
it today, date back to an antiquity of which it is difficult to give a
concent save in terms of astronomical figures of years.

Human history, proto-history, and archaeology begin where
the last chapter of our planet’s geological history ends. Man’s
existence on earth dates a long time behind the oldest known re¬
cords of authentic archaeology, but fragmentary documents of his
life in various regions of the earth, of his slow progress in culture
and industry, and the relics of his contemporary animals lie buried
in the top layers of the earth’s crust — the strata of geology which
form what has been called its Sub-Recent period. Thus the back¬
ground of the history of all human races on earth is this zone of
strata in the upper crust or shell of the earth’s body, laid down in

THE GEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND OF INDIAN HISTORY

surface deposits, river valleys, deltas, lake-basins, glaciers, etc. In
these are preserved traces of the existence of man and of the physi¬
cal and climatic conditions of the time; they are designated in
general as the Pleistocene system, representing the last epoch of
the third and latest division of geological time, the Cainozoic Era.

A full account of the Pleistocene under these heads is luckily
preserved in India: it is of great value as linking up prehistory with
the geological history of a large section of southern Asia. It was
this age that saw the completion of the main outlines and relief of
the earth as we see it today — its seas and continents, mountains,
plateaux, and plains; though climatically the world had yet to
witness one of the greatest revolutions, viz. the gradual freezing
of the northern regions culminating in what is known as the Ice
Age.

INDIA IN THE PLEISTOCENE PERIOD

1. The Setting of the Stage for Early Man in India

Pleistocene geological records found in India form an extensive
and varied storehouse of materials for the last million years or so,
immediately preceding the Recent and Sub-Recent epochs. They
carry the human records forward to so late a date as the Neolithic
(circa 10,000 years B.C). In terms of years the Pleistocene dates
back, according to modem estimates, to one million to two million
years. The formations enumerated below have an important bearing
on man’s prehistory as they contain in them numerous documentary
relics entombed in the form of his skeletal remains, his artifacts and
other proofs of his handiwork, industry, and culture. It is in these
that the key to the stages of human evolution might be found.

The principal Pleistocene and Sub-Recent remains in India may
be classified as follows: —

(i) Deposits of the Ice Age in India: Glacials of Outer and
Middle Himalayas.

(ii) The Indo-Gangetic alluvium of the plains of North India.

(iii) The older alluvium of the peninsular rivers; high-level
river terraces of the Himalayan valleys.

(iv Old Lake Deposits (Karewa Series) of the Upper Jhelum
Valley in Kashmir.

(v) Cave Deposits: Human cave-dwellers and their animal
contemporaries.

(vi) Laterite Cap of the Peninsula: Loess and soil. deposits.

(vii) Changes in the river-systems and drainage of North
India.

(viii) The Desert of North India: the growth of desert
conditions.

(ix) Late Earth Movements, volcanoes and earthquakes.

THE VEDIC AGS

Interesting glaciological investigations have been made in the
Kashmir Himalayas and in the Karakoram by a number of explo¬
rers and naturalists. The Central and Eastern Himalayas have not
received the same* attention. It is, however, well Known that
throughout these mountains grooved and polished rock-surfaces,
produced by the scouring action of the glaciers, occur at elevations
above 6,000 feet, whereas the present limit of Himalayan glaciers
is 13,000 to 15,000 feet. Numerous lakes and rock-basins of Kash¬
mir, Ladakh, and Kumaon directly owe their origin to the action
of glaciers now no longer existing. Four distinct phases of glacia¬
tion, separated by three inter-glacial intervals, have been recognized
in Kashmir by their moraines.

Whether India, south of the Himalayas, passed through an Ice
Age has been a much-discussed subject. It must be understood,
however, that the present zonal distribution of climate being assum¬
ed, we cannot look for the presence of ice even on the highlands
of South India, because a refrigeration which can produce ice-caps
in the latitudes of Europe would not be enough to depress the tem¬
peratures in India beyond that of the present temperate zones. But
some indirect evidences of considerably lowered temperature are
observed in the increased humidity and a succession of cold pluvial
periods having affected the distribution of several cold-loving species
of animals and plants then living in India. This enables us to ex¬
plain the occurrence today of some Himalayan temperate flora and
fauna in such isolated centres as Mt. Abu, Parasnath, in the Nilgiris
and even in the mountains of Ceylon, and their absence throughout
the intervening plains of India.

Man was contemporaneous, in N. W. India probably, with the
two later glacial advances, as some late discoveries tend to show.
De Terra records the presence of implements worked by man in de¬
posits in the outer ranges of Kashmir and in the Soan valley, belong¬
ing approximately to the - second Glacial He correlates the
European Chellean and Acheulian with the early Soan cultures and
dates this as Mid-Pleistocene.

2. The IndoGangetic Alluvium of the Plains of North India

As noted above, by early Pleistocene time, the dominant
features of India’s geography had taken shape, and the country had
acquired almost its present form and its leading topography except
that the land in front of the newly upheaved Himalayas formed a
great longitudinal depression, complementary to the rising moun¬
tains, and parallel with them. This trough, at first occupied by
salt-water lagoons, gradually freshened, and, receiving constant
influx of detritus from the high ground above it, from hundreds of
descending streams, began rapidly to be filled by the waste of the
Himalayas. This long-continued vigorous sedimentation loading

THE GEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND OF INDIAN HISTORY s

a narrow, slowly sinking belt of country, the deposition of the debris
keeping pace with the subsidence, has given rise to the great Indian
plains. The continuous upheaving of the mountains must have
rejuvenated the streams, multiplying their sediment-depositing
power. Thus, these plains have come to acquire the simplest geo¬
logical structure, the alluvial filling a large structural basin in the
framework of India.

The greater part of the Indo-Gangetic plains is built up of very
late alluvial flood deposits of the rivers of the Indus-Ganges systems,
borne down from the Himalayas and deposited at their foot. But
most of this terrain became firm and dry enough to be habitable
for man only some 5,000-7,000 years ago. Buried beneath this
mantle of clay and sand are valuable geological records linking up
the Deccan with the Himalaya system. Its geological structure,
composition and history therefore possess no great interest though,
humanly speaking, it is of the greatest economic as .well as historical
importance. It has no mineral resources, but its agricultural
wealth and fresh underground water stored in the more porous and
coarser strata, accessible by ordinary wells and tube-wells, are the
highest economic asset of India. Though devoid of records other
than those of the yesterday of geological time, these alluvial plains
are the stage of the main drama of Indian history since the Aryan
occupation.

The area of these plains is 300,000 square miles, covering the
most thickly populated and the most fertile part of India. The
total thickness of the alluvium consisting of beds of clay, silt, and
sand is not ascertained, for the deepest borings (for water down to
about 2,000 feet) have not reached the bed-rock. There is a con¬
siderable amount of flexure and dislocation at the north margin of
the trough, where it passes into the zone of the parallel boundary
faults at the foot of the Himalayas. This structural strain explains
the well-known seismic instability of this part of India, it being
the belt encompassing the epicentres of the majority of the known
Indian earthquakes. Many of the river courses of the plains
have undergone great alterations. These rivers are bringing enor¬
mous loads of silt from the mountains and, depositing it on their
beds, raise them to, and even above, the level of the surrounding
flat country through which the streams flow in ever-shifting chan¬
nels. This has been the history of many of the rivers of the plains.
The deltas of the large rivers were mostly constructed within pre¬
historic times, though their surface and outline have undergone
material changes during the last few centuries. The Indus and
Ganges deltas each cover about forty thousand square miles.

The extensive alluvial tract of Gujarat on the west coast is of
the same age as, though quite unrelated to, the Indo-Gangetic
system. Its constitution shows that it is not wholly the work of

THE VEDIC AGE

the rivers, but that in its making the combined agency of river,
estuarine and marine coastal depositions has operated.

These ancient alluvial deposits are of value in the study of
early and middle Pleistocene as they are characterized by the pre¬
sence of some of the earliest undoubted traces of man’s existence
in India, and furnish an easily accessible field to the student of early
human culture in India.

The alluvial plains of the Narmada and Tapti are remarkable
as lying in deep rock-basins at over 500 feet elevation above the
present beds of these rivers. Scattered in the clay, sand, and
gravel beds are bones of the buffalo, horse, bear, an extinct species
of rhinoceros, hippopotamus, elephant, and crocodile. A chipped
stone hatchet, fashioned out of quartzite rock, was discovered hr
1872, buried in the steep face of a gravel terrace of the Narmada
at a site eight miles north of Gadawara. This is the earliest pre¬
historic relic oi man discovered in India and is regarded as of the
pre-Chellean Age. This fact suggests the settlement of the Narmada
valley by an early palaeolithic race. Another valuable relic, also
believed to be of genuine human workmanship, was discovered in a
terrace of the upper Godavari at a level of about twenty-five feet
above the present bed of the river. It is a knife fashioned put of
an agate flake, 2\ inches long, the sharp cutting edge of which is
blunted by long usage. From the association of human remains
with large mammalia which differ from the existing Indian fauna
in some material respects, the age of these implements can be taken
to be Lower Pleistocene. The distance in time of these animals
from their present-day descendants gives us some measure of the
antiquity of the human settlements on the Narmada and the Goda¬
vari.

Various alluvial deposits of the Jumna-Ganges rivers and their
tributaries are somewhat newer in age and have been assigned an
antiquity intermediate between the Narmada-Godavarx beds and
the Mid-Pleistocene, from the evidence of fossil-bones and the few
artifacts that have been found in them. Lately signs of the exis¬
tence of palaeolithic man have also been obtained from the valleys
of the Tungabhadra and the Orsang. Recent discoveries since 1935
in the valleys of the Soan (near Rawalpindi) and in the Sabarmati
of north Gujarat of interesting suites of stone tools, axes, scrapers,
and choppers also throw light on the length of the epoch that inter¬
vened between the palaeolithic and the commencement of historic
time.

3. Human Cave-Dwellers of India: Their Animal Contemporaries

But few caves of archaeological interest exist in India and out
of these only one group has received the attention of palaeonto¬
logists and been subjected to systematic exploration. The only

THE GEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND OF INDIAN HISTORY

ones that have been systematically investigated and yielded data
on Pleistocene cave life are the group of small caves (Billa Surgam)
near Banganapalli in the Kurnool district. From the stalagmitic
floor a large assemblage of bones has been dug out, belonging to a
mixture of Recent and Sub-Recent species, viz. a monkey, a hyaena,
several cats, bear, a small equus, mongoose, bat, squirrel, a shrew,
rats, small deer, gazelle, wild boar, along with an extinct type of
rhinoceros, wild boar, civet-tiger and giant pangolin. Palaeon¬
tologists have assigned to this fauna a horizon near to the Upper
Pleistocene top of the Palaeolithic. Among the human implements
found in the Billa Surgam caves are numerous bone tools, very
few stone tools being so far recorded. These are referred to the
middle or upper Palaeolithic.

The Kurnool caves help to present a fragmentary picture of
the land life that prevailed in India just prior to the time when man
began to domesticate animals for his own use. This life bridges,
the gap between the end of the Siwalik, a period of maximum
development of the higher mammalian species, and the beginning
of the Neolithic, when man began to take to pastoral and agricul¬
tural pursuits.

Since early Siwalik times there has been a more or less constant
intercourse between East Africa, Arabia, Central Asia and India
maintained by the migrations of herds of mammals. Pilgrim has
stated that the magnificent assemblage of land mammals we witness
in the later stages of the Siwaliks was not truly of indigenous Indian
origin. According to him it is certain that it received large acces¬
sions by migration of the larger quadrupeds from Egypt, Arabia,
Central Asia, and even from distant North America by way of
land bridges across Alaska, Siberia, and Mongolia.

There seems little doubt that our races of domestic animals are
the direct descendants of the post-Siwalik species through the
greatly decimated population that inhabited the Kurnool caves and
the basins of the Narmada and the Godavari. The Siwalik ancestry
of the Indian camel and the buffalo is beyond any doubt, whilst the
short-homed and humped cattle of India had as their progenitors
the Bos primigenius of the Siwalik through Bos nomadicus of the
Narmada age. With a varied and abundant animal population as
their co-denizens in the fertile and well-watered plains of North
India it is no wonder that early man in India was among the first to
tame some of the more prized varieties for companionship and
domestic service.

4. Laterite Cap 0/ the Peninsula and Soil Deposits

Among the geographical, geological, and geophysical factors
which have influenced the course of history in India and governed
the distribution of large bodies of population over its surface, the

V.A.— -6

THE VEDIC AGE

peculiar formation, laterite, is of importance. In many ways its
influence was the opposite to that of the Indo-Gangetic alluvium,
for whereas the country covered under this geological formation
invited man’s settlement and provided a hospitable base for sustain¬
ing life, the laterite rock terrains are generally soilless, comparative¬
ly sterile expanses of hard ground, difficult to till, and poor in sur¬
face and underground water resources, and drove man to easier
conditions of existence.

5. Changes in the River Systems of North India during the Human

Epoch

The hydrography of North India for a considerable portion of
the Pleistocene epoch was profoundly different from what we find
today. Few changes in the physical geography of India during
early historical times and in Sub-Recent age have been so well
proved as the changes in the river-systems of northern India.
Following the great geographical revolution of the later Tertiary
ages the old drainage lines of northern India have been radically
altered and a new drainage system superimposed. The number,
volume, and direction of the majority of the units of this drainage
bear evidences of these changes, which in some instances, amounted
to a complete reversal of the direction of flow of a principal river
such as the Ganges.

The drainage pattern of Peninsular India is of great antiquity
and has persisted more or less unchanged since the early Gond-
w&na era. On the other hand the northerly drainage of the Dec-
can, flowing to the shores of the Himalayan Sea (the Tethys) in
Gondwana times, was completely disorganized in the beginning of
the Tertiary, and subsequently during the late Tertiary and post-
Tertiary all its main lines were buried under the' 200 mile wide
belt of alluvial plains of the north from Sind to Manipur. The
present valley system of northern India, one of the youngest hydro-
graphic systems of the world, has inherited nothing from the old,
it being an entirely superimposed drainage, with no relations what¬
ever to the old river-courses.

6. The Great Prehistoric River of Northern India

Ample evidence is found on the subject of the common ances
try of the Brahmaputra, Ganges, and Indus rivers, their reversal
and capture before attaining their present state which has influenc¬
ed the course of Indian history at many a turn and comer. It was
the notable pre-historic river, named the “Siwalik river” by Pil¬
grim, that flowed from the head of the Sind gulf to the Punjab and
thence along the foot of the embryonic Himalaya chains, through
Simla and Nainital to Assam. Post-Siwalik earth movements in
North-West Punjab brought about a dismemberment of this river

THE GEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND OF INDIAN HISTORY

system into three subsidiary systems: (1) The present Indus from
North-West Hazara; (,2) Tne live Punjab tributary rivers of the
Indus: (3) The rivers belonging to the Ganges system which finally
took a south-easterly course.

The severed upper part of the Siwalik Elver became the modern
Ganges, having in course of time captured the transversely running
Jumna and converted it into its own affluent. The transverse
Himalayan rivers, the Alaknanda, Karnali, Gandak, and Kosi, which
are really amongst the oldest water-courses of North India, conti¬
nued to discharge their waters into this new river, irrespective of
its ultimate destination, whether it was the Arabian Sea or Bay of
Bengal. During Sub-Recent times some interchange took place
between the easterly affluents of the Indus and the westerly tribu¬
taries of the Jumna by minor shifting of the water-shed, now to
one side now to the other. There are both physical and historical
grounds for the belief that the Jumna during early times discharged
into the Indus system, through the now neglected bed of the Saras-
vati river of Hindu tradition, its present course to Prayag being
of late acquisition.

The Punjab portion of the present Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas,
and Sutlej have originated from the uplift of the topmost stage of
the Siwalik system and subsequent to the severance of the Indus
from tne Ganges. The Potwar plateau-building movements could
not but have rejuvenated the small rivulets of southern Punjab,
which until now were discharging into the lower Indus; the vigorous
head-erosion resulting from this impetus enabled them to capture,
bit by bit, that portion of the Siwalik river which crossed the Pot-
war on its westerly course to the Indus. Ultimately the head
waters, joining up with the youthful torrents descending from the
mountains, grew in volume till they formed the five important
rivers of the province, having their sources in the snows of the
Great Himalaya Range. The western portion of the broad but now
deserted channel of the main river, after these mutilating opera¬
tions, has been occupied today by the puny, insignificant stream of the
Soan, a river out of all harmony with its great basin in thd enormous
extent of the fluvialite deposits with which it is choked.

7 . The Deserts of Western India: The Rann of Cutch

The origin of 40,000 square miles of the Rajputana desert with its
curiously worn and sand-blasted topography is attributed, in the
first instance, to a long continued and extreme degree of aridity of
the region combined with the sand-drifting action of the south-west
monsoon winds, which sweep through Rajputana for several months
of the year without' precipitating any part of their contained moi¬
sture. A certain proportion of the desert sand is derived from the
weathered debris of the rocky prominences of this tract, which are

THE VEDIC AGE

subject to the great diurnal as well as seasonal alterations of tem¬
perature characteristic of all arid regions. The daily variation of
heat and cold in some parts of Raj put ana often amounts to 100
degrees Fahr. in the course of a few hours. The seasonal alteration
is greater. This leads to a mechanical disintegration of the rocks,
producing an abundance of loose debris, which there is no chemical
or organic action (humus) to convert into soil.

The Rann of Cutch. — Once an inlet of the Arabian Sea and now
a saline marshy plain scarcely above sea-level, its sandy metal en¬
closing deep pockets of millions of tons of pure salt, the Rann of
Cutch bears signs of late geological alterations of level caused by
earth movements and owes its present condition to the geological
process of the Pleistocene age. From November tp March, the period
of the north-west monsoon, the Rann is a barren tract of dry salt-
encrusted mud presenting aspects of inconceivable desolution.
During the other half of the year it is flooded by waters of the rivers
that are held back owing to the rise of the sea by the south-west
monsoon gales. A very little depression of this tract would be
enough to convert Kathiawar and Cutch into islands. On the other
hand, if depression does not take place, the greater part of the surface
of the Rann will be gradually raised by the silts brought by the
river with each flood, and in course of time converted into an arable
tract, above the reach of the sea, a continuation of the alluvial
terrain of Gujarat.

8. The Meteorological Influence of the Himalaya Mountains

.The Rajputana desert conditions have thus accentuated with
time, the water action of its few streams being too feeble to transport
to the sea the growing masses of sand. Rut that the Indian desert
is not of greater extent, or that it shows no tendency to expand in
girth is due to the meteorological influence exerted by the Himalaya
range. It has protected northern India from the gradual desiccation
that has overspread Central Asia from Khorasan in eastern Persia
to Mongolia since early historic times, and the desert conditions
that inevitably follow in the heart of a continent.

9. Earthquakes and Volcanoes

Earthquakes . — The Peninsula of India is a region of great geo¬
logical stability and is remarkably immune from seismic disturbances
of any intensity. But in the extra-peninsular India the recorded
earthquakes since even late historic times form a long catalogue of
tragedies. It is a well-authenticated generalization that the majo¬
rity of Indian earthquakes have originated from the great plains of
India, or from their peripheral tracts.

Of the great Indian earthquakes recorded in the last two cen¬
turies and of which some accounts can be traced, the best known are:

THE GEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND OF INDIAN HISTORY

Delhi, 1720; Calcutta, 1737;, Eastern Bengal, 1762; Cutch, 1809;
Kashmir, 1885; Bengal, 1885; Assam, 1897 (one of the most disas¬
trous earthquakes recorded in world history); Kangra, 1905; North
Bihar, 1934; Western Baluchistan, 1935. The area encompassed by
these quakes is the zone of weakness and strain caused by the severe
crumpling of the Himalayas within recent times. The structurally
disturbed and displaced belt has not yet attained stability of quie¬
scence. It falls within the great earthquake belt which traverses
the circumference of the earth east to west, from Japan through the
whole breadth of Eurasia across the Atlantic and the North Ame¬
rican continent to California.

Volcanoes. — There are no living or active volcanoes anywhere
in the Indian region today. A recently extinct volcano lies far on
the west border of India in the Nushki desert of Baluchistan — the
large extinct crater of Kohi Sultan. The Malay line of living
volcanoes — the Sunda Chain — -some of the most active volcanoes of
the recent age, if prolonged to the north, would connect a few dor¬
mant or lately extinct volcanoes belonging to this region. Of these
the most important is the now dormant volcano of Barren Island,
to the east of the Andaman island group. The last time it was
observed to be in eruption was early in the nineteenth century.

10. Late Earth-Movements and Local Alterations of Level

Though movements of the mountain-building kind have not
visited the peninsular part of India for an immense length of geolo¬
gical time, there have been a few late vertical movements of secular
upheaval and depression, some of these of considerable amplitude,
involving uplift or sinking of large crust-blocks, while others were
of minor or local type. Of these, the later minor alterations of
level recorded within the Pleistocene concern us here. Within these
times an appreciable elevation of the peninsula, exposing portions
of the submerged coastal plains as a shelf or platform round its east
as well as west coasts, is the most notable. Such “raised beaches”
are found at altitudes varying from a few feet to 150 feet in many
places on the Malabar and Coromandel coasts, while marine shells
are found at several places some distance inland far above the level
of the tides. Marine and estuarine deposits of post-Teritary age
are met with on a large scale towards the southern extremity of the
Deccan. Besides these evidences of a rather prominent uplift- qf
the peninsula, there are also proofs of minor, more local alterations
of level, both elevation and depression. The existence of beds of
lignite and peat in the Ganges delta, the submerged forest discovered
on the east coast of the island of Bombay and peat deposits near
Pondicherry are proofs of slow downward movement. Evidences of
upheaval are seen in some coral reefs along the coasts, low-level

THE VEDIC AGE

raised beaches on various parts of the Ghats, and recent marine
accumulations above tide level.

The submerged forest of Bombay is nearly twelve feet below
low-water mark and thirty feet below high water; here a number
of tree stumps are seen with their roots in situ, in the old soil. On
the Tinnevelly coast a similar forest or fragment of old land surface
is seen slightly below high-water mark. At Pondicherry, 240 feet
below ground-level, a thick bed of lignite is found, while in the
Ganges delta layers of carbonized vegetable debris occur. About
twenty miles from the coast of Mekran the sea deepens suddenly
to a great hollow. This is thought to be due to the submergence of
a cliff formerly lying on the coast. The recent subsidence, in 1819.
of the western border of the Rann of Cutch under the sea, accom¬
panied by the elevation of a large tract of land (the Allahbund ),
is the most striking event of its kind recorded in India and was
witnessed by the whole population of the country. Here a tract of
land, some 2,000 square miles in area, was suddenly, depressed to a
depth of twelve to fifteen feet, and the whole tract converted into
an inland sea. The fort of Sindree, which stood on the shores, the
scene of many a battle recorded in history, was also submerged
underneath the waters, and only a single turret of that fort remained,
for many years, exposed above the sea. As an accompaniment
of the same movements, another area of about 600 square miles was
simultaneously elevated several feet above the plains, into a mound
which was appropriately designated by the people “Allahbund”
meaning “built by God.” The elevated tract of land known as the
Madhupur jungle near Dacca is believed to have upheaved as much
as 100 feet in quite recent times. This upheaval caused the de¬
flection of the Brahmaputra river eastward into Sylhet, away from
the Ganges valley. Since this change the Brahmaputra has again
changed its course to the west.

In the foregoing account of the later geological deposits of India
there is everywhere a gradual passage from the Pleistocene to the
Sub-Recent and thence to the prehistoric and the Recent. These
periods overlap each other much as do the periods of human history,
and there is no general agreement as to the exact limits of each.

CHAPTER V

THE GEOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND OF

INDIAN HISTORY

L PHYSICAL FEATURES

India is a vast country well marked off from the rest of Asia
by its mountain wall on the north, north-east, and north-west, and
the sea on the remaining sides. Roughly speaking, the territory
comprised within it is about 2,500 miles from east to west and 2,000
miles from north to south, with an approximate area of 1,800,000
sq. miles. It has 6,000 miles of land-frontier and 5,000 miles of
sea-frontier.

Looking broadly at the physical features of the country we can
easily distinguish three main parts, viz. (1) the great mountain wall;
(2) the great lowland plain of Hindusthan; and (3) the great Deccan
plateau.

1 . The Great Mountain Wall

The Himalayas which run in a south-east curve all along the
northern front of India, and separate it from the plateau of Tibet,
include several parallel ranges of lofty mountains, with deep valleys
between them. They cover a region about 1,500 miles long and
150 to 200 miles in breadth. The Himalayas contain altogether
about 114 peaks of over 20,000 feet, of which 75 exceed 24,000 feet.
The best known are Everest or Gauri Sankar (29,140 feet), the
highest mountain in the world, Kanchanjangha (28,176 feet), Dhau¬
lagiri (26,826 feet), Nanga Parbat (26,620 feet) and Nanda Devi
(25,661 feet).

The Hindu Kush mountains which run from the Pamirs in a
south-westerly direction may be regarded as the natural boundary
of India in the north-west, though considerable portions of the
hilly regions to the south and east are now included in Afghanistan.
Further south, the Safed Koh, Sulaiman and Khirthar mountains
are now generally regarded as the north-western boundary of India,
separating it from the Tableland of Iran. But large stretches of
land to the west of this line in modem Afghanistan and Baluchistan,
like those to the south and east of the Hindu Kush, were for long
both culturally and politically parts of India.

Running roughly southwards from the eastern end of the
Himalayas are a series of ranges which form the mountain wall
separating India from Burma. In the north are the Patkoi Hills
which broaden into the Naga Hills and the Manipur Plateau and
send out a branch westwards forming the KhasI, Garo and Jaintia

THE VEDIC AGE

' i

hills. South of Manipur are the Lushai and Chin Hills, which nar¬
row into a long single range, the Arakan Yoma, which reaches the
sea at Cape Negrais.

These mountainous regions contain some high plateaus and
valleys. Beginning from the west we have the plateaus of Balu¬
chistan and Afghanistan which may be regarded as the continuation
of the great plateau of Iran.

In these and the neighbouring hilly regions there are many
secluded valleys which have been the home of sturdy tribes from
time immemorial. They converted their high hills into so many
impregnable citadels and maintained their independence even against
powerful foes. The detailed accounts which we possess of the brave
resistance which these small communities put up against such world-
conquerors as Alexander or the Arabs form a brilliant chapter in
the heroic annals of India.

Coming next to the Himalayan region we have the famous
Kashmir Plateau, one of the most beautiful in the whole world. The
green valley, at an elevation of 6,000 feet, is about 80 miles long
and 25 miles broad. It is watered by the Jhelum river and is sur¬
rounded by snowy mountains 18,000 feet high. It has been justly
regarded as “the earthly paradise.”

Further east lies Nepal, stretching for 500 miles along the
Himalayan region proper, which is above 5,000 feet, and the sub-
Himalayan region below that height. The latter may again be sub¬
divided into two parts. The part near the Gangetic plain, known
as the Terai, is very low and covered with marshes and coarse tall
grass. The part near the mountains is covered with forest. Both
are damp and unhealthy. The Nepal valley proper covers a small
area round its capital Katmandu. It lies between the basins of the
Gandak and Kosi and is watered by the Baghmati river. It is a
rich fertile plain surrounded by high hills and although only about
25 miles long and 14 miles wide, nearly a quarter of all the inha¬
bitants of Nepal live in this valley.

The hilly regions of the east contain the plateau on which
Shillong is situated. It juts westward from the main hills and
separates the valley of the Brahmaputra on the north from that of
the Surma on the south. The main hill ranges running north to
south contain small plains like those of Manipur.

The plateaus mentioned above have been, generally speaking,
detached from the currents of life in the country proper. The
history of Kashmir, Nepal, and Assam forms, therefore, almost
isolated chapters in the history of India, and only very rarely comes
into contact with it. Afghanistan, being on the main highway
between India and the world outside, has however, played a more
important part than would otherwise have been the case.

The mountains form an admirable defensive rampart of India

THE GEOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND OF INDIAN HISTORY

against invasion by land. The Himalayas present a formidable
barrier to an army, though small' bodies of traders and missionaries
can pass over it through difficult routes. The mountains in the
north-east, though not an equally effective barrier, have for all
practical purposes served India well. They are so steep and so
densely forest-covered that to cross them is a task of abnormal
difficulty, and no considerable body of foreigners is known to have
passed through this route to the interior of the country.

The mountains in the north-west, however, have proved to be
more vulnerable. There are several passes across the Hindu Kush
and along almost all the chief rivers in this region, viz. the Swat
and the Chitral running south, and the Kabul, the Kurram, the
Tochl and the Gomal, running east to the Indus. But by far the
most important route is the one that crosses the Hindu Kush through
one of its passes, runs along the Kabul valley, and then descends to
Peshawar through the Khyber Pass, a winding and narrow defile
about 20 miles long.

Another well-known route runs, beyond the fringe of the
Afghan mountains, from Herat to Kandahar, and then descends to
the Indus valley through the Bolan Pass or the Mula Pass further
south.

The third well-known route from the west followed the coast¬
line and reached the Indus valley through the narrow gap between
the Khirthar range and the sea. But the inhospitable Makran
coast made this route far less frequented than would otherwise have
been the case.

The two routes last mentioned were less important as gateways
to India than the first. For just beyond the region where they
debouch into the Indian plain stretches the great desert of Raj
putana, which bars access to the interior of India. The Khyber
route, on the other hand, leads directly across the plains of the
Punjab to the interior through the narrow gap between the desert
and the mountains. Hence the northern route has been more fre¬
quently used by the foreign invaders of India. This explains the
strategical position of the Khyber pass as the first line of defence,
and that of the narrow plains to the west of the Jumna, above Delhi,
as the second.

Thus although the mountains around India have not definitely
shut it off from the rest of Asia, they have made even peaceful com¬
munication with the neighbouring countries a difficult process.
Further, they have proved an almost insurmountable barrier against
foreign invasion except through the Khyber Pass, which has been
in all ages the gateway of India, and the key of its security from
foreign aggression.

The Himalayas have not only served as a great barrier against
outside intruders, but have also otherwise contributed to the welfare

THE VEDIC AGE

of India. By protecting her against the cold dry winds from Tibet,
and serving as a great screen for the monsoon winds, they have
increased the fertility and prosperity of the Indo-Gangetic plains.
The numerous rivers fed by the glaciers of the Himalayas have served
the same end. Some of these rise behind the Himalayas, in a valley
which forms part of the Tableland of Tibet. In the centre of this
valley lies the lake Manasasarovara (Manasarowar), and near it
rises the lofty mountain Kailasa, both famous in Indian mythology.
Close to this spot, at a height of 16,000 feet, are the sources of the
Indus* and the Brahmaputra which run for a considerable distance,
respectively, towards the west and the east, before they skirt round
the edge of the Himalayas and take a southern bend to enter into
the Indian plains. The great Himalayan ranges are thus held
“within the arms of the two mighty rivers whose southern bends
form the western and eastern limits of the greatest mountain ranges
in the world.”

2. The Plain of Hindustan

Within the mountain-wall described above, and stretching from
the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal in a great curve, lies the great
plain of Hindustan, nearly 2,000 miles long and 150 to 200 miles
broad. It is formed by the basins of the three great rivers, the
Indus, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, and their various affluents
and tributaries. Not a hill is to be seen in this vast area. The
great rivers all rise in the Himalayas and are supplied perennially
from the gradual melting of the snow and the rains on the hills.
Many of these rivers wind through small shallow rocky beds in
the hills for a considerable distance, but as soon as they reach the
plains their course becomes slow over the flat valley, their beds
are broadened, and not infrequently these are shifted, often over a
considerable distance.

These rivers play a very important part in the life of the people.
Carrying sediment from the hills they have formed alluvial delta,
often of considerable extent. Their perennial supply of water is an
inexhaustible source of irrigation. Their long lazy courses through
broad valleys have not only made the lands fertile but have provided
good highways of communication. In consequence of all these,
highly developed centres of culture and civilization have flourished
on the banks of these rivers from remote antiquity.

The two principal river-systems are those of the Indus and the
Ganges. The Indus rising in the Tibetan plateau runs west and
north-west for nearly 800 miles between the great Karakoram range
and the Himalayas. Passing through a tremendous gorge beyond
Skarda it. is ioined by the Gilgit river and turning south cuts its
way through the mountains to the Plains. Five rivers, all originating
from the Himalayas, and winding through the hills, reach the plains

THE GEOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND OF INDIAN HISTORY

and eventually join to form the Panchanad (five rivers) or Punjab.
These are, from west to east, the Jhelum, the Chenab, the Ravi,
the Beas, and the Sutlej. They have changed their courses even in
historic times, and the last two formerly ran in parallel beds for
a long distance below their present junction. These five rivers,
combined, ultimately join the Indus. The Punjab province, covered
by them, is a broad flat alluvial plain.

On leaving the Punjab plain the Indus flows through a narrow
rocky gorge into a broad dry alluvial plain bounded by the Plateau
of Baluchistan on the west and the great Thar desert in the east.
The region of the lower Indus valley — the modem province of
Sind — would have been a desert but for this river which irrigates
and renders fertile a considerable portion of territory on both sides
of it. The Indus is to Sind what the Nile is to Egypt.

The Ganges issues from the Himalayas and has the character
of a mountain torrent until it reaches Hardwar. It then runs, first
from north-west to south-east, then almost due east, and finally takes
a southern course before it reaches the sea. Its most important tri¬
butary is the Jumna on the west which, after a long parallel course,
joins it near Allahabad. The tract between the two rivers is called
the Ganges- Jumna Doab. Some of the rivers issuing from the hills
of the Central Indian plateau, such as the Chambal, the Kali Sindh,
the Betwa and the Ken fall into the Jumna, while the Son, further
east, falls into the Ganges. - On the north the Ganges is fed by im¬
portant tributaries issuing from the Himalayas, the chief among
which are the Gumti, the Gogra. the Gandak and the Kosi. The
Ganges falls into the sea through several mouths. The most im¬
portant in ancient times was the westernmost called the Bhagirathi
(the Hooghly), on which stand Murshidabad, Hooghly, and Cal¬
cutta. We can still trace some of its old beds like the Saraswati
which was dried up in the 16th or 17th century. At present the
main waters of the Ganges flow through the Padma, the eastern¬
most mouth.

The mighty Brahmaputra, as noted above, has its source near
the eastern base of the Kailasa mountain. Under its Tibetan. name
of Tsan-po, it runs east for nearly 700 miles till it bends southwards
and enters Indian territory under the name of Dihang near Sadiya.
It is then joined by the Dibang and the Luhit, and the united stream
takes the name of Brahmaputra. In old days it was known as Lau-
hitya, the trace of which evidently survives in Luhit. The Brah¬
maputra “rolls in a vast sheet of water, broken by numerous islands”
through a narrow valley, about 500 miles long and 50 miles wide,
shut in between the Himalayas in the north and the Assam hills
in the south. It then passes through the plains of Bengal and
joins the easternmost mouth of the Ganges, viz. the Padma. Before
the combined waters of the two fall into the sea, they are joined

THE VEDIC AGE

by other rivers from the eastern watershed between Bengal and
Burma through the channels of the Meghna, another mighty river.
As a matter of fact, the last part of the course of these united rivers
is now popularly known as Meghna. The Ganges-Brahmaputra Doab
and the deltas formed by them constitute the rich fertile province
of Bengal.

3. The Plateau

To the south of the plain of Hindustan lies the great plateau
which stretches over the whole of Peninsular India, except the coast-
strips, up to its southern extremity. The plateau is divided into
two important sections by ranges of mountains, which run across
almost its whole breadth from east to . west. These are the two
parallel lines of hills, the Vindhyas in the north and the Satpura
mountains, a little to ■ the south, which are continued eastwards as
Mahadeo hills and Maikal range, and pass into Chota Nagpur Plateau.
The Vindhya and Satpura mountains are separated by a narrow
valley through which flows the great Narmada (Narbada) river.
These hills with other outlying spurs and ranges constitute what
may be called the Central Highlands, a formidable barrier which
cuts off Northern India from the Deccan. The portion of the plateau
north of the Central belt of mountains is known as the Central
Indian plateau, and that to its south, the Deccan plateau.

(a) The Deccan Plateau . — The surface of the Deccan plateau
slopes down from the west to the east. The western edge of the
tableland forms a high precipice above the sea and is known as
the Western Ghats, with a narrow plain between it and the sea.
On the eastern edge, which is much lower, are the Eastern Ghats,
consisting of groups of low hills separated by wide gaps, through
which the great rivers from the north and the west flow down to the
coastal plain and then to the sea. As we go southward the hills gradu¬
ally recede from the sea leaving a coastal plain from 100 to 150
miles wide towards the east. Ultimately they take a sharp bend to
the west and join the Western Ghats at the Nilgiris.

-The crest of the Western Ghats, exceeding 3.000 feet in height,
forms a sort of protective barrier to the plateau which is conse¬
quently dry. The Western Ghats are about 1,000 miles in length
and throw out many spurs in the east across the Deccan plateau.
The plateau is higher in the south, being about 2.000 feet in the
region of Mysore and half that height in Hyderabad. The southern
point of the plateau is formed by the Nilgiri Hills where the Eastern
and Western Ghats meet. Beyond it are the Cardamom Hills which
may be regarded as the continuation of the Western Ghats.

Two major rivers in the Central Highlands, the Narmada and
the Tapti, immediately to the north and south of the Satpura range,
flow from east to west. The rivers in Peninsular India, however.

96 *

THE GEOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND OF INDIAN HISTORY

run from west to east. Many of them rise in the Western Ghats,
only a few miles from the western sea-coast, but traverse the whole
breadth of the plateau and cut their way through the Eastern
Ghats. These rivers are very different from those of Northern
India. Being only fed by the monsoon rains, they become so dry
in the hot season that they are hardly navigable even by small boats.
In the absence of a constant supply of water they are also less va¬
luable for irrigation purposes.

There are several important river-systems in the peninsula.
The valley of the Godavari and its tributaries constitutes a large
stretch of flat land in the north (in C.P.), but it is narrow in the
south and there are dangerous rapids where the river cuts through
the Eastern Ghats. The valley of the Mahanadi also forms a broad
plain (the Chattisgarh Plain) in the north-east, growing narrower
as it passes through the Orissan hills to the sea.

The Krishna (Kistna) and its tributaries, of which the chief is
the Tungabhadra, form another important river system which al¬
most divides the Deccan plateau into two sections. This division
is emphasized by the high Mysore plateau which lies immediately
to the south. In the Mysore plateau rises the Kaveri, another large
river, which with its tributaries forms an important river-system
in the extreme south.

(b) The Coastal Region . — As noted above, there is a coastal
plain on each side of the plateau. On the west a narrow low-lying
strip stretches from the head of the Gulf of Cambay along the
whole coast. Its northern part is now called the Konkan, and its
southern the Malabar Coast. As the full force of the monsoon
winds strikes against the Western Ghats the rainfall is heavy in this
region and several small and short streams flow across it, but there
are no big rivers. In Malabar these rivers form many back-waters
along the coast, which facilitate easy communication by boat and
favour the growth of a few fine harbours. There are some good har¬
bours also in the northern Konkan.

There is a similar low-lying strip on the east stretching south
from the delta of the Ganges. It is much wider than the western
strip and its southern part, known as the Coromandel coast, is very
broad. Unlike the western strip, again, it is traversed by many
big rivers. In addition to the lower courses of the Mahanadi, the
Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri (Cauvery) mentioned above,
a number of smaller streams flow across it. The deltas of these
four rivers form an important feature in the economic geography
of the eastern coast. The Deccan plateau is also more easily
accessible from the eastern coastal plains than from the western,
where the steep cliffs of the Ghats rise abruptly from the plains
to a great height. The eastern coast has few natural harbours,

THE VEDIC AGE

but there are open roadsteads having easy communications with the
interior.

The two coastal regions running for a thousand miles along
the entire lengths of the eastern and western sides of the triangular
plateau gradually approach each other as the Peninsula narrows
down towards tne south, and at last meet at Cape Comorin, the
southernmost point of India. There is a small gap, about 20
miles broad, between the Nilgiri and the Cardamom hills, which pro¬
vides an easy access from the western to the eastern coastal
region, i.e. from the Malabar to the Coromandel coast. It is known
as the Coimbatore or Palghat gap.

To the south-east of Cape Comorin lies the island of Ceylon,
which, though not an integral part, has been closely associated with
India throughout the course of history. The Gulf of Manar which
separates it from India narrows northward to Palk Strait which is
so nearly closed in one part by a chain of islands and shoals that
the name Adam’s Bridge has been given to it. Ceylon is shaped
like a mango and its area is a little less than that of Mysore. It is
mountainous in the centre, sloping down to flat and broad low-lying
coasts all around. There are a few good harbours on the coast and,
as in Malabar, there are many backwaters along the seashore.

(c) The Central Indian Plateau . — Between the valleys of the
Indus and the Ganges lies the vast Thar desert, which stretches
almost up to the Aravalli range. The Punjab plain, south of the
Sutlej, rises gradually and fades away into this sandy waste, with
bare rocky hills and waterless valleys. Beyond the Aravalli is the
Central Indian Plateau which slopes gradually from the Central
Highlands to the Gangetic plain, in the south, and ends in the east
in the hilly and forested region of Chota Nagpur, which extends up
to the plains of Bengal and Orissa. To the south lies the rich valley
of the Narmada, which rises in the Maikal range and flowing almost
due west, falls into the Gulf of Cambay.

The Vindhyas rise abruptly from the Narmada valley like a
high rocky wall, and seen from the south, look like a regular
mountain range with short spurs. But they slope gently to the
north, without any steep fall or well-marked spurs, forming the
Malwa plateau, the valleys of Eastern Rajputana and the tablelands
of Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand. As noted above, all the rivers
on this side flow into the Ganges or the Jumna.

The north-eastern outliers of the Vindhyas. such as the Bhanrer
and Kaimur ranges! extend almost up to the Ganges south of
Benares and then run parallel to this river, leaving only a narrow
passage between them, till the Rajmahal Hills. Here a little beyond .
the modem Colgong, only a very narrow defile separates the mighty
Ganges from the high cliffs of the Rajmahal range stretching- for
about 80 miles to the south. A little further to the east bevond

THE GEOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND OF INDIAN HISTORY

the defile, the Ganges takes a sharp bend to the south and the hills
gradually recede from its bank to the west of the wide plains of
Bengal. This configuration of the land invested the long narrow
passage between Chunar on the west and Teliagarhi on the east
with great strategic importance from the military point of view;.
This, the only high road between Western and Eastern India, could
be effectively commanded by hill forts, and this explains the value
of Rohtas, Chunar and, further west, of Kalinjar and Gwalior. Fur¬
ther east, the passes of Shahabad and Teliagarhi, separated by a
distance of 3J miles, served as the bottleneck through which every
invading army had to pass, and this “gateway” served as an admira¬
ble defence for Bengal.

The hills and forests of the Central Indian plateau from Bundel-
khand to Chota Nagpur include many regions forming comparative¬
ly inaccessible retreats. They have given shelter to primitive
tribes and enabled comparatively weaker peoples to defy the supe¬
rior powers of the Indo-Gangetic plain. Thus the Central Indian
plateau has profoundly influenced the history of India in many
ways.

To the south of the desert and west of the plateau lie the rich
lowlands of Gujarat covered by numerous low hills and watered by
the rivers Mahl, Sabarmati, and the lower courses of the Narmada
and the Tapti. This region includes the characteristic projection,
known as the Kathiawar Peninsula, and the Bann of Cutch, . im¬
mediately to the west of it, which is now a great marsh and almost
dry in the hot weather (cf. Ch. IV, § VII).

II. INFLUENCE OF GEOGRAPHY UPON HISTORY

Like most other countries in the world the history of India has
been profoundly influenced by its geographical features. These
have been partly noted above and will be further evident as we
gradually proceed with our historical narrative from age to age;
but some general broad issues may be discussed here.

In the first place we. must note the vast dimensions and the
varied physical -features of the country. In extent India is almost
equal to Europe with the exclusion of Russia. It contains the
highest mountain ranges, lofty plateaus,, extensive plains only
slightly higher than the sea-level, sandy deserts, large rivers, fertile
river- valleys and forests of all types and descriptions. Every
variety of climate from extreme cold to extreme, heat is to be
found in the country. All these factors tended to separate India
into different local zones, each with a regional spirit of its own.
Nevertheless India, being effectively shut off ‘by mountains and
seas from the other countries and forming a compact territory,
developed as a distinctive political and cultural unit, as compared
. with the rest of the world. The Indian horizon was a large but

THE VEDIC AGE

limited one, and the common natural boundaries gradually led to
a sense of a common motherland. The vision of a fundamental
unity always loomed large and coloured the political ideals of the
country. This ideal of political unity was rarely realized in actual
practice but, as a political theory, it can be traced throughout the
long course of Indian history. The cultural unity was, however,
more manifest, being inspired by a common language, literature,
and religious and social ideals. In spite of seeming diversity there
was a large measure of cultural unity, and the goal of political union
was never lost sight of. This unity in diversity is the keynote of
the tangled history of India, and forms the background against
which the seemingly complex developments in the various aspects
of Indian civilization must be viewed.1

The natural barriers of hills and rivers largely determined the
different political (and partly cultural) units into which India was
divided. These natural divisions favoured the growth of a local
and regional spirit and fostered separatist tendencies. The marked
distinction between North India, the Deccan plateau and the penin¬
sular plains to the south and east of the latter, led to the growth of
three broad regions which maintained distinctive characteristics
and generally played a separate role in politics throughout the long
course of Indian history. In each of these regions political unity
was frequently achieved or attempted with a large measure of sue*
cess. But the attainment of political unity between any two of
these, regions, even those to the north and south of the Krishna, was
more difficult, and though there was almost a continuous struggle
for achieving it, successful attempts were few and far between.
The unity of the Hindustan plains, together with the Central Indian
plateau , was rendered more difficult by the very large extent of the
country. It was, however, not infrequently realized, at least to a
large extent, and the struggle for its achievement was a constant
feature of the history of India. But the occasions were, compara¬
tively speaking, rare when a deliberate attempt was made to unite
all the regions to the north and south of the Vindhyas.

The political history of India, generally speaking, thus resolves
itself into separate histories of the three regions. But the points
of contact between them, though infrequent, were not altogether
absent, and under powerful dynasties, in all periods of Indian
history, a considerable part of each of the three regions was brought
under a common sceptre.

The three regions also exhibit similar, though somewhat less
prominent, distinctions in cultural history. While the Aryan
language and civilization swept over the whole of Northern India
obliterating almost all traces of the pre-existing state of things, its
success was less phenomenal in the south. Over a considerable
part of the Deccan plateau, and all over the South Indian Peninsula

100

THE GEOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND OF INDIAN HISTORY

to its south and east, the non- Aryan languages still prevail, and
some older customs and ideas can yet be traced. On the other hand,
these regions were profoundly affected by the civilization of the
north. The primitive languages have accepted a considerable Aryan
vocabulary, whereas religious and social ideas of the Aryans have
almost completely transformed the old order of things.

Within each of the three natural divisions, again, there are
sub-divisions caused by physical barriers, which have stood in the
way of regional unity and affected the course of history. The great
Thar desert, intervening between the plains of the Indus and the
valley of the Ganges, has practically converted these two regions
into separate units. This has been very unfortunate from the point
of view of Indian defence. As noted above, the mountain passes
through which foreigners could invade the country all converge
on the Indus valley, and the bulk of the North Indian plains being
separated from this region by the great desert, the resources of
North India, far less the whole of India, could seldom be employed
to guard these gateways. Moreover the desert, though effectively
checking any aggression from the lower Indus region, permitted
the invaders to bypass it through an opening on its north. The
narrow plain above Delhi, bounded by the desert, the Jumna and
the hills, was the bottleneck through which foreign invaders had
to pass from the valley of the Indus to that of the Ganges.

This explains the strategic position of Delhi as an imperial capi¬
tal and also how it is that the battle-fields of Panipat, and others near
it, have often decided the fate of India. But the foreign invaders
had the great advantage of forcing the main gateway and getting
a strong foothold in the country, before they had to reckon with
the main strength of Indian defence. Illustration of this meets us
at almost every step as we go through the history of the foreign con¬
quests of India.

The Thar desert offers a great contrast to the fertile plains
around it, but its peoples, though scanty, have imbibed from the soil
a sturdy character and love of freedom which sharply distinguish
them from their neighbours. The hills and forests have imparted
a similar hardihood to the people and supplied means of defence
which are lacking in the plains. Besides, these regions, less favour¬
ed by nature and more difficult of access, have afforded shelter to
the wild primitive tribes who were dispossessed of their hearth
and home in the fertile plains by the more civilized conquerors of
the land. Thus it is in the desert and the fastnesses of the hills
and forests of India that we still meet with the earlier strata of
population like the Kols and Bhils who have maintained, almost
intact, the primitive characteristics which distinguished them
thousands of years ago. To these geographical factors also largely
belongs the credit that certain regions have earned by successful

101

THE VEDIC AGE

struggle for independence against heavy odds. The heroic struggle
of tne Rajputs and the Marthas, for example, against the imperial
powers of Delhi, was probably as much due to the nature of their
lands as to the bravery of the people. To a less extent the strate¬
gic position of the Tehagarhi passes explains the frequent rebellion
of Bengal against the Central authority of Delhi.

The extensive valley of the Ganges has been divided into seve¬
ral local regions by the large rivers, and the Indus valley, though
comparatively smaller, is broadly divided into two by the middle
and lower courses of the river. Thus in Northern India the modern
provinces of the Punjab, Sind, U.P., Bihar, and Bengal, as well as
the desert region of Rajputana, the plains of Northern Gujarat,
plateaus of Malwa and Bundelkhand, and the isolated hilly tracts
of Chpta Nagpur have the roots of their separate entities as distinct
units dug deep into the past. No doubt racial and linguistic factors
played some part in creating these natural regions, but no one can
ignore the very large influence of the geographical factors, includ¬
ing the strategic means of defence afforded by nature.

The Deccan plateau was divided into several distinct regions
by the two mighty rivers, the Godavari and the Krishna, and their
tributaries; it was also separated from the coastal plains on the east
and the west. The eastern coastal plain was divided by the Orissa
hills and the estuaries of the two rivers named above. The region
south of the plateau was sharply split into an eastern and western
zone by the Nilgiris and Cardamom Hills, and the former was again
subdivided, to a certain extent, by the Kaveri river. All these geo-,
graphical regions had generally speaking developed into separate
distinct units and retained their individuality through the ages.

Apart from these broad' regional distinctions, even smaller
barriers of hills and rivers have tended to keep alive the spirit of
local autonomy in well-marked political units created by them. Not
only in the vast Hindustan Plains and Central Indian plateau, but
even in the comparatively narrower regions of the Deccan plateau
and South Indian plains, we find the influence of such regional poli¬
tics from time immemorial, with a surprising tenacity that has
kept up the isolationist spirit even amidst political catastrophes and
kaleidoscopic changes of rulers and dynasties. The old kingdoms
of Kosala, Magadha, Gauda, Vanga, Avanti, Lata, and Surashfcra in
the north, and Kalinga, Andhra, Maharashtra, Karoaja, Chera,
Chola, and Pandya in the south, among others, seem to possess eter¬
nal lives. Empires rose and fell, the whole country passed through
a series of foreign invasions, but these states, under different names
and various ruling dynasties, continued their individual existence
almost throughout the cpurse of history.

The popular view about the lack of political unity in India
ignores the vastness of its area and the natural barriers that tend

102

THE GEOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND OF INDIAN HISTORY

to separate its different regions. When we deplore political dis¬
union in India we really view it on the footing of a comparatively
small kingdom like Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia or Iran in the ancient
world or a state in mediaeval or modern Europe. But we forget
that there was not a single kingdom in any part of the world before
the nineteenth century, of a size comparable to that of India, which
maintained political unity for a considerable length of time. On
the other hand, the important kingdoms of India, such as Magadha,
Kosala, Malava, Chalukya, Chola etc. which, under varying names,,
have formed its constituent parts since remote antiquity, can well
be compared with the single states in Asia and Europe, both in
ancient and modern times. As in Asia and Europe, so in India,
two or more of these kingdoms have often been politically united,
and we have occasionally even mighty empires comprising most
of them.

India is almost as large as Europe, excluding Russia, or the
whole of Western Asia, and can no more be treated as a single poli¬
tical unit than any of them. The consolidation of large kingdoms
was very difficult before modern scientific achievements eliminated
the effects of distance and natural barriers, but these were impor¬
tant factors in old days, and operated more or less in the same way
all over the world. India, as a consolidated united kingdom, is
well within the range of practical politics today, when the whole
country is closely knit together by a system of railways, and even
two of the remotest regions of India are more familiar to each other
than were two neighbouring provinces in the good old days. Now
the news of a revolt in the most distant part of India would be con¬
veyed instantly to its political centre, and a large force could reach
the scene of disturbance in a few hours or a few days. But things
were very different in the days of Asoka when the peoples of his
frontiers such as those of Taxila (Punjab) and Suvanjagiri (Mysore)
hardly knew each other. If we remember that the emperor would
not receive the news of any disaffection in these places in less than
a month, and many months would perhaps elapse before his army
could reach there, we need hardly wonder that the Maurya empire
did not last for more than 137 years.

A considerable part of Indian history is a chronicle of unsuccess¬
ful attempts to set up a stable empire over the whole or greater
part of India, the impulse to which was partly caused by political
ambition, but in part arose or received its strength from a common
consciousness of the cultural and geographical unity of India.

The vast extent of the country, and its comparative seclusion
from the rest of the world, had other important historical conse¬
quences. As noted above, it made India a distinct and self-suffi¬
cient geographical unit, almost a little world by itself. An Indian
ruler or a military genius had enough scope for his political ambi-

103

THE VEDIC AGE

tion or martial enterprises within the natural limits of the country,
and so the comparatively unknown regions beyond the high hills
or seas held out no temptation to him. The distances covered by
the campaigns of the most famous military leaders in the ancient
world, and the extent of territory conquered by the largest empire-
builders in ancient times, could well be comprised within the limits
of India. A Chandragupta Maurya or a Samudra-gupta, not to men¬
tion lesser names, could quench his inordinate thirst for military
glory without crossing the natural boundaries of India. It is only
very rarely that rulers like Kajendra Chola overstepped them and
carried arms beyond the seas or hills. Thus while foreign conquest
is an important feature in the history of Egypt and many ancient
kingdoms ha Mesopotamia and iran^ it never figured as an impor¬
tant element in Indian polity. As a natural consequence of
this, an Indian ruler would scarcely be expected ever to emulate
the exploits of Thutmose III, Cyrus, Xerxes, or Alexander, and the
vision of a Homan empire extending over three continents would
be altogether out of place in Indian history. But at the same time,
the conception of a distinct unity, as against the rest of the world,
was promoted in India in a manner which was not to be seen in
any part of the ancient world of equal magnitude.

The physical features of the country affected the lives and habits
of the people. The valleys of the numerous rivers, specially the
Indus, the Ganges, and their tributaries, offered easy means of
communication and cheap livelihood. Hence their banks were
studded with flourishing seats of civilization from very early times.
The absence of keen struggle for existence gave opportunities for
intellectual pursuits, and the wild beauty of nature favoured a
speculative turn of mind and the development of philosophical
ideas. But nature’s bounty was unfavourable to the growth of
physical hardihood or a tendency to scrutinise the mysteries of the
physical world leading to a scientific spirit. This at least partly
explains why art, literature, and philosophy flourished, but positive
sciences made comparatively little progress in India.

The extensive coast-line of India fostered trade and maritime
activity and made the Indians hardy mariners. From an early
period they navigated the seas, both in the east as well as in the
west, and their bold sea-faring exploits carried them to distant and
unknown parts of the world.

The very narrow sea-board on the west was shut off from the
interior by the precipitous Western Ghats and hence flourishing sea¬
ports arose only on its northern and southern extremities. For
they had to be sustained by constant supply of industrial products
from the interior. As the gap between the Nilgiris and Cardamom
Hills in South India offered an easy means of communication bet¬
ween the eastern and western coasts of the peninsula, we find a

104

THE GEOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND OF INDIAN HISTORY

number of important harbours on the western coast in this neighbour¬
hood.

The eastern sea-board contained important harbours near the
mouths of the big rivers viz. the Ganges, MahanadI, Godavari,
Krishna, and Kaveri, as they were important channels of commu¬
nication with the interior. The Ganges being the only outlet to the
sea for the extensive and populous regions in Northern India, the
ports at its mouths became flourishing centres of trade.

The trade gave impetus to colonization and Indian colonies were
planted even in the most distant regions in the Far East. The
maritime activities of India were, however, almost solely devoted
to peaceful pursuits. This is mainly due to the vast expanse of
the sea on both sides of the peninsula. The direct voyage between
the Indian coast and the opposite shore, either of Africa on the west
or Indo-China and the East Indies in the east, was long and risky.
The Indian rulers having enough scope for military enterprise and
imperial ambition in the mainland itself, the dubious chances of
success afforded by the sea could scarcely tempt them to devote
their energy and resources to building a powerful navy in order
to establish an overseas empire.

Only one Indian power, the Cholas, attempted such a bold
enterprise after having acquired possession of almost the whole
length of the eastern sea-board. But in spite of brilliant success
in the beginning, it proved too heavy a burden and had to be aban¬
doned. If India had the advantage, like Greece or Rome, of having
a narrow sea with islands and mainland beyond it within easy
reach, she might have developed into a naval power as did many of
her colonies in Malaya and Indo-China, regions which offered these
facilities.

Indian colonization was therefore the result of private indi¬
vidual enterprise, and not due to military conquest or an organized
undertaking backed up by the State. No colony was the result
of a single mass migration sent forth by an Indian ruler to relieve
congestion or to expand his dominions. Sporadic settlements and
gradual infiltration by bold Indians, who left home for various reasons
and at different times, slowly built up these colonies, and consequent¬
ly they had no political tie or even intimate association with the
mother country. But they proved to be the milestones in the trium¬
phant progress of Indian culture across a vast region. Had these
colonies been within easy reach of India she might have built up
a colonial empire such as the Greeks and Romans had done. But
geographical factors determined the character of Indian coloniza¬
tion. It was to be a means to cultural conquest rather than politi¬
cal aggrandizement, of commercial enterprise rather than economic
exploitation.

This brief review has sufficiently demonstrated the profound

105

THE VEDIC AGE

influence which geography has exercised upon the history of India.
It is easy, but not necessary, to dwell upon many other particulars,
for these will be evident as we proceed with our historical narra¬
tive.

In conclusion we must consider the effect of climate on the
history of India. It is generally assumed that the tropical climate
has enervated the people of India and mainly accounts for their
failure to check the hardy mountaineers from colder regions, less
favoured by nature, who were tempted to their country by its
wealth and fertility. It has been regarded as an irony of fate that
the agreeable climate and the vast plains watered by rivers, which
have been the source of India’s wealth and happiness, have also
proved to be the main causes of her ruin by making their inhabi¬
tants fond of ease and luxury, devoted to the ideals and pursuits
of peace, and less hardy and persevering than their opponents
schooled in the hardship of nature.

On the other hand, it has been pointed out that at least a con¬
siderable section of the Indians have been always noted for their
prowess and bravery, that the Rajputs, Marathas and Sikhs in
modern times have not proved less hardy than any other peoples,
and that the defeat of the Indians at the hands of the Western inva¬
ders cannot be ascribed solely or even mainly to the influence of
climate. The facts of history seem to uphold this contention, as
on a careful consideration of the details of the various campaigns,
so far known, it would be difficult to maintain that the discomfiture
of the Indians is to be attributed exclusively or even mainly to
their lack of physical strength.

It is, however, a singular fact worth noting, that in the nume¬
rous recorded instances of the foreign invasions from the West, the
Indians have almost always been defeated by the new-comers.
This can hardly be regarded as a pure accident. Nor can it be ex¬
plained away by a lack of unity among the defenders, for the in¬
vaders did not always possess a numerical superiority over their
opponents.

The true explanation seems to lie in India’s ignorance of the
outside world. The rise of political powers or new political combi¬
nations, the evolution of military tactics, and the invention of new
military weapons or fresh equipment, even in Central or Western
Asia, not to speak of remoter countries, hardly ever interested
India, though, as events proved, she fell a constant victim to one
or other of them. The details of the defensive campaigns waged
by Indian rulers leave no doubt that they were either unaware of
the impending danger, and consequently not sufficiently prepared,
or were outmatched by the new military formations or weapons to
which they were complete strangers. The charge of a compact and
well-disciplined cavalry force, held in reserve, has often proved

106

THE GEOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND OF INDIAN HISTORY

decisive against the mass of elephants and infantry of the Indians,
and yet they have never learnt the value of cavalry or the strate¬
gic importance of a reserve force. It may be noted as a typical
instance that the Indian opponents of Babur were ignorant of the
fire-arms which the latter used with such dreadful effect.

The reason for such ignorance is not merely to be sought in a
spirit of isolation fostered by almost insurmountable barriers. It
is also partly due to the fact that, for reasons stated above, Indian
rulers had no occasion or temptation to carry on campaigns outside
India. They lived and fought in their little world, vast enough
for their personal ambitions and enterprises, and cared little for
what was happening in the outside world.

Unfortunately, the physical barriers which shut off the vision
of Indian rulers from the outside world were not strong or power¬
ful enough to keep out all foreign invaders from Indian soil. When
some of them did cross the barriers into India, they brought with
them new ideas and forces of a progressive world with which India
could not cope. But so strongly did the geographical factor ope¬
rate, that as soon as these foreign invaders settled in India, they
imbibed the insular spirit so congenial to her soil, and themselves
fell victims to it. So it has been in the past, and so it is destined
to be in the future, so long as the political vision of India confines
itself within her natural boundaries of hills and seas, and does not
look beyond to the world outside.

1. It would be wrong to think, as many do, that the conception of the fundamental
unity of India is only of recent growth. This idea can be traced to ancient periods
by the use of the common name, Bharatnvarsha, for the whole country, and the
designation Bharati Santatih applied to the people of India. Thus we read in the
Vishnu-Purana (ii. 3. 1) that ‘‘the country lying to the north of the ocean and
to the south of Himadri (Himalaya) is called Bharata- varsha (land of Bharata),
for there live the descendants of Bharata (Bharati. santatih) ” Similarly the con¬
ception of the political unity of India appears from inferences to “thousand
Yojanas (leagues) of land that stretch from the Himalayas to the sea as the
proper domain of a single universal emperor,” and the conventional description
in literature and epigraphic records of imperial domains stretching from the
Brahmaputra (or Easte?*n Ocean) to the seven mouths of the Indus (or Western
Ocean). As regards cultural unity, the findspots of Asoka’s records prove that
one language and one script v/ere used, or at least understood, by common
people all over India in the third century B.C. Since then the Sanskrit language
and literature have throughout been a common bond of culture in addition to
religious and social ideas and institutions.

107

CHAPTER VI

FLORA AND FAUNA

I. THE FLORA

The vegetation of a country depends on, and to a large extent
is determined by, its geographical and climatic features, and India
stands in a very favourable position with respect to both these
conditions.

“There is no part of the world better marked off by nature as
a region by itself than India. It is a region indeed full of contrast
in physical features and in climate.” The extraordinary varieties
in its physical features have been described above. The climate
also varies from “torrid to arctic, from almost absolute aridity to
a maximum of humidity.” It is greatly influenced by the monsoon
winds and the distribution and orientation of the mountain ranges
and their altitude. The annual rainfall varies prodigiously in dif¬
ferent parts of India from 450 inches in the Khasi Hills of Assam
to about three inches in the deserts of Sind and Rajputana. Its tem¬
perature also shows enormous variation with the changes of seasons.
At some places during summer months it records 130 degrees or
more in the shade and in winter it goes down many degrees below
freezing point.

The soils of India, like its climate, comprise almost all the dif¬
ferent types found elsewhere in the world. The alluvial soils of
Assam, Bengal, the. United Provinces, the Punjab, Rajputana, Sind,
Gujarat, the Godavari, Krishna and Tan j ore districts of Madras and
the eastern and western coastlands of the Deccan, are important for •
agricultural crops and have made India essentially an agricultural
country. The Deccan trap and the regur or black cotton soils of
the greater portion of the Bombay Presidency. Berar, western parts
of the Central Provinces and Hyderabad, in the valleys of the Taotl.
God&varT, Narmada, Krishna and parts of Kathiawar, and the
western portion of Central India, are very favourable to the culti¬
vation of cotton, jowar (great millet), wheat, linseed and gram. The
crystalline and laterite (red) soils of Madras, Mysore, the south¬
east « portion of the Bombay Presidency, the eastern half of Hyde¬
rabad, parts of the Central Provinces, Orissa, ChotS Nagpur, western
borderland of Bengal, parts of eastern Rajputana and the Bundel-
khand region of Central India are fertile when dark coloured, and
infertile when they are light coloured and sandy.

India’s contiguity to bordering countries has been responsible
for the migration of a large number of plants from China, Tibet,
Siberia, Malaya, Europe and South Africa, and they form the exotic

108

FLORA AND FAUNA

elements of the flora ot India. The number of recorded species of
flowering plants comes to about 17,000 under 176 families, and there
are about 600 ferns and fern allies, 3,000 mosses and 178 liverworts.
According to Chatterjee, 38 per cent of the flowering plants of India
are exotic.

From their exhaustive and critical studies of the Indian flora
Hooker and Thomson observe that “India contains representatives
of almost every natural family on the globe. ..and it contains a
more general and complete illustration of the genera of the other
parts of the world than any other country whatsoever of the equal
or even of considerably larger extent.”1

India is so extensive and varied a country that for a closer
study of its vegetation it has been necessary to divide it into three
botanical areas and six provinces. The three areas or regions are:
the Himalayan, Eastern, and Western. The Himalayan represents
a “rich tropical, temperate and alpine flora with forests of conifers,
oaks, rhododendrons, and a profusion of orchids”; the Eastern, “a
few conifers, many oaks and palms with a great preponderance of
orchids”; and the Western “has only one conifer, no oaks, few palms
and comparatively few orchids.” The Himalayan flora has in com¬
mon many European genera; the Eastern, many Chinese and Mala¬
yan; and the Western, European, Oriental and African.

These three botanical areas are subdivided into six botanical
provinces, based on their climate and physical characters, namely
(1) the Eastern Himalaya, (2) the Western Himalaya, (3) the Indus
Plain, (£) the Gangetic Plain including the Sunderbans, (5) Mala¬
bar, and (6) the Deccan, each characterized by its own flora.

It would be beyond the scope of this chapter to go into details
of the vegetation of these provinces, but in order to give an idea of
the immensity of India’s vegetable wealth a brief enumeration of
the principal types of vegetation is given below.

1. Forest Vegetation : its types

India is very rich in forests; as a matter of fact forests cover
more than one-fifth of its total area. The forests of India supply
valuable timber, firewood, essential oils, resin, turpentine, lac, dye¬
ing material, tanning material, myrobalans, sources of paper pulp
and other materials of commerce and industry

According to the variation in climate, altitude and habitat the
forest vegetation of India is divided into five types: (1) the Ever¬
green, (2) the Deciduous, (3) the Dry, (4) the Hill, and (5) the Tidal
or Littoral.

The Evergreen . — The dense and luxuriant Evergreen flourishes
where the annual rainfall is over 80 inches and contains trees of
many important families, such as the Dipierocarpaceae, .Guttiferae,
Annonaceae, Meliaceae, Burseraceae, Sapotaceae, Euphorbiaceae,

109

THE VEDIC AGE

and the Palmae. They include many species of great economic
value, such as ebony, teak, rosewood, ironwood, bamboos, the jaman,
the neem, and tamarind. In the Carnatic Evergreens the families
Ebenaceae, Sapotaceae, Capparidaceae, Rhamnaceae and Myrtaceae
predominate.

The sea-shores are skirted with coconuts; the villages are sur¬
rounded with groves of betelnuts and talipots; cassia, pepper and
cardamom flourish wild in the jungles and form staple products
of export. Sandalwood is found in1 the outskirts of Malabar. Nut¬
meg, coffee, and tea grow in the hill slopes, and cinnamon flouri¬
shes in this region. Artocarpus , calophyllam, cedrela, dalbergia ,
dipterocarpus , and others occur in plenty. In Assam forests bam¬
boos, palms, ficus, cycas, ferns, and others grow in abundance.

The Deciduous.—^ The Deciduous occupies the larger part of
the Deccan and is also known as the Monsoon Forests. Trees are
large-sized and form very remarkable timbers, such as teak, sal,
padauk, redwood, sandalwood, anjan, species of Terminalia, Chlo -
roxylon 9 Swietenia , Diospyros , Acacia, Albizzia, and others. Of
palms, Phoenix sylvestris and Borassus fiabellifer grow gregariously.
The chief bamboos are Bambusa arundinacea and Dendrocalamus
strictus; ferns and their allies are rare in these forests.

The Dry.— The Dry forests are found in the desert regions of
Sind, Rajputana, and the Punjab, and the plants are characterized
by thick and fleshy stems and leaves and mostly consist of thickets
of shrubs and a few stunted trees; many of them are leafless. The
chief families are the Leguminosae, Tamaricaceae, Rhamnaceae,
and the characteristic trees are: the Jhand , various species of Tamar
rix, Capparis , SaXvadora, Acacia, Phoenix sylvestris , Zizyphus ,
etc.

The Hill . — The Mountain or Hill forests are found in South
India above 5,000 feet and in the Himalayas above 3,000 feet alti¬
tude. The trees are Evergreen, of which the following are .the
most conspicuous: oak, picea, deodar, pines, firs, chestnut, walnut,
maple, elm, ash, birches, laurels, pyrus, poplar, rhododendron, and
species of abies. The prominent families of these forests are the
Coniferae, Cupuliferae, Sapindaceae, Lauraceae, Magnoliaceae, Sali-
caceae and Urticaceae. Indian Bladder-nut and Lilac, Rosa toeb-
biana , moschata , and eglanteria, Parrottia sp., the .mountain ash,
the bullace and the common hawthorn are peculiar to the Western
Himalayas. Species of magnolia, musa, palmS, pandanus, bam¬
boos, orchids, cycas, and ferns abound in the Eastern Himalayas.
Beautiful herbaceous plants like anemone, aconites, violets, primu¬
las and balsams abound. The alpine zones contain species of rhodo¬
dendron, junipers and associations of dwarfish herbaceous plants,
such as species of Rheumt Arenaria, and Saussarea . Both in the
Eastern and Western Himalayas about 4,000 flowering species under

110

FLORA AND FAUNA

147-160 families, 230-250 ferns and their allies with eight tree
ferns have so far been recorded.

The Littoral . — The Littoral forests are found in the deltas of
the Ganges, the Mahanadi, and the Indus, and also to some extent
in the regions washed by the high tide and salt water. They are
rich sources of fuel. The whole of the Sunderbans is named after
the Sundri ( Heritiera ) trees. The prominent families of these
forests are: Khizophoraceae, Gramineae, Cyperaceae, Typhaceae,
Euphorbiaceae, Verbanaceae and the two palms, namely, Nipa fru-
ticans and Phoenix paludosa. In many places Avicennia, Nipa,
and Aegialitis form associations; Suaeda maritima , Acanthus Hid-
folius, Sonneratia apetala , Ceriops roxburghiana, Bruguiera gym -
norhiza , Aegiceros major, and others are some of the dominant
species of these regions. These forests are popularly known as
the Mangrove Forests.

2. Freshwater Vegetation

About 160 flowering species form the common water or marsh
vegetation of India. The beautiful white, blue, and red water lilies,
and their allies, the magnificent white and red lotuses, Euryale ferox,
a relative of the Victoria regia , and Limnanthemum with clusters
of white flowers lend charm and beauty to the fresh water lakes,
pools* ponds, and other inland waters. Nymphoea alba , Caltha ,
and others occur in the lakes of Kashmir. Species of Lemna , Wolfia,
pistia stratiotes, water hyacinth (recently introduced) , bladderworts,
and Ceratophyllum are conspicuous free floating aquatic plants,
while water-chestnut, Ipomoea sp., waterferns, and many others
are amphibious. Vallisneria , HydrHla , Ottelia, Najas , Charaf etc.,
form extensive floor vegetation in shallow water-courses. The
Podostemonads are regarded a^*» the most remarkable of India’s
freshwater flora in the rapid streams of hill slopes.

3. Cultivated Vegetation

An account of the vegetation of India will be incomplete with¬
out some notice of the large varieties of her cultivated -vegetation.
As India extends, both horizontally and altitudinally, from the
tropical to the temperate zones, cultivated crops of these zones all
over the globe are being, or can be, grown successfully in India.
Crop vegetation in India, as in other countries, is distinguished into
four general types, namely: (1) the Hill, (2) the Wet (Monsoon),
(3) the Dry (Winter) and (4) the Irrigational.

The total area of cultivable land in India is about 450 million
acres, and of these nearly 285 million acres are actually under,
cultivation. The following is a bare account of the principal crops
and their distribution in India. These are classified under six

111

THE VEDJC AGE

major heads, namely: (1) the Cereals, (2) the Pulses, (3) Sugar¬
cane, (4) Oil seeds, (5) Fibre crops, and (6) Plantation crops.

Cereals . — The cereals comprise rice, wheat, millet, barley, and
maize, the first two being the principal cereal crops.

Rice is cultivated in Bengal, Madras, Bihar, the United Pro¬
vinces, Orissa, the Central Provinces, Assam, Bombay, and Sind,
and covers about 70 million acres. Wheat is grown in about 35
million acres, and the principal wheat-growing provinces of India
are the Punjab, the United Provinces, and the North-West Frontier
Province. Millet is extensively grown in Madras, Bombay and part
of Hyderabad. There are two principal kinds: jo war ( Andropogon
sorghum) ahd bajra ( Pennisetum typhoideum)f and the total area
under millet cultivation comes to about 63 million acres. Barley is
grown only over a comparatively small area in the Ganges basin
of the United Provinces, Bihar, Peshawar, and Central Kashmir.
Maize in small quantities is cultivated more or less all over India
but in large quantities in the United Provinces, Bihar, Nepal, and
the Punjab both in the plains and hills.

Pulses . — This important group includes gram, lentils, peas,
arhar, and many species of Phaseolus, and the total area under
cultivation approximates to 50 million acres of which gram alone
occupies between 15-17 million acres. Gram is mostly grown in the
Punjab, the United Provinces, Bihar, the Central Provinces, Bom¬
bay, Hyderabad, and Mysore; lentils in the Central Provinces,
Madras, and the United Provinces; and peas and other pulses in
many parts of India.

Sugar-cane. — India is regarded as the original home of sugar¬
cane and the present area under its cultivation exceeds four million
acres. The most important sugar-cane growing provinces are the
United Provinces, the Punjab, Madras, Bengal, Bihar, and Bombay.

Oil Seeds. — The importance of oil seeds is very great. Not
only do they constitute an essential element in the diet of every
Indian, but they are also in great demand for the manufacture of
vegetable ghee, perfumeries, varnishes, paints, lubricants, candles
soaps, and other similar products of commerce. The principa
oil-yielding crops of India are rape and mustard, ground-nuts, lin- ,
seed, castor-seed, sesamum seed, etc.

The cultivation of rape and mustard is confined to the northern
parts of India, in the United Provinces, Bengal, the Punjab, Bihar,
and Orissa over an area of about six million acres. Ground-nut is
grown over eight million acres chiefly in Madras, Bombay, Hydera¬
bad, the Central Provinces, and Chota Nagpur. The area under
linseed crop is about three and a half million acres distributed
over the Central Provinces, Bihar, Orissa, the United Provinces,
Bombay, Bengal, Hyderabad, and the Punjab. Sesamum is grown
in almost all the provinces of India, but mainly in Bombay, Madras,

112

FLORA AND FAUNA

and the Central Provinces. Castor oil plants as a principal crop are
grown in Madras, Hyderabad, Bombay, and the Central Provinces.
Coconut oil is derived from the copra of coconuts..

Fibre Crops . — Cotton, jute, and hemp axe the principal fibre
crops of India. Of these, cotton occupies 25-27 million acres, jute
2.18 million, and hemp 0.6 million acres. Cotton is a dry-region
crop and is grown in Bombay, the Central Provinces, Berar, the
Punjab, Madras, the United Provinces, Bengal, Hyderabad, Baroda,
Rajputana, Sind, and Mysore. Jute cultivation is restricted to
Bengal, Assam, Bihar, and Orissa. Two varieties of Hemp, the
Sunn and the Roselle, are grown in Bombay, the Central Provinces,
the United Provinces, and Madras, and to a small extent in the
North-Western Himalayas and Sind.

Plantation Crops. — The principal plantation crops are: tea,
coffee, tobacco, rubber, indigo, opium-poppy, condiments and spices,
fruits and vegetables including root crops. The area under tea culti¬
vation in India is about 0.82 million acres in the hill slopes of
Assam, Bengal, Bihar, Madras, the Punjab, the United Provinces,
Cochin, Mysore, and Travancore. Coffee cultivation is restricted
mainly to Mysore, Madras, Coorg, Cochin, and Travancore* the total
area under coffee being about 0.2 million acres. Tobacco was first
introduced to India in 1508, and the best tobacco is now grown over
million acres in Bihar, Bengal, Madras, Mysore, Bombay, the
Punjab, and Hyderabad. Rubber is mainly grown in Travancore,
Madras, Coorg, Cochin, and Mysore. Indigo cultivation is confined
to the Ganges valley, and Opium-poppy in Bihar and the United Pro¬
vinces. Condiments and spices are grown mostly in South India
and Assam over an area of 2 million acres. India’s fruits and vege¬
tables, including root crops, cover an area approximately of 4.5
million acres and include grapes, oranges, apricots, pears, apples,
bananas, mangoes, litchis, pine-apples, papaya, guava, water melons,
and others. The coconuts provide delicious drinks and nutritious
food, and are a source of copra and coir.

Before concluding this brief account of Indian vegetation, spe¬
cific mention should be made of three trees which have figured in
Indian vegetable-lore and literature since Vedic times: the banyan
(Ficus bengalensis) , the pipal ( Ficus religiosa ), and the salmali
(Bombax malabaricum) . The banyan with its spreading branches
and prop roots, the pipal with its wealth of hanging leaves con¬
stantly fluttering in the wind, and the towering Salmali, a blaze of
scarlet flowers in early spring are distinctive features of the Indian
landscape.

2. THE FAUNA

On account of the great diversity of climatic and physical con¬
ditions in a vast country like India its animal life is so remarkably

113

THE VEDIC AGE

varied and abundant that it is beyond the scope of the present chap¬
ter to give even a general account of the characteristic features of
its fauna. We therefore propose to coniine our attention mainly
to the vertebrate animals; for though the invertebrates are far
greater in number and variety the vertebrates are better known
and more beneficial.

1. The Vertebrates

Amongst vertebrates, the mammals constitute the highest group
and are of special interest as these include man himself. In India,
mammals are well represented. Only the duckbill and spiny ant-
eaters and the pouched mammals such as kangaroos and the opos¬
sum do not occur in India. Amongst the man-like apes . only the
hooiock gibbon is found in India. This occurs in large troops in
the dense forests of Assam and adjacent areas. The monkeys are
represented by a number of species and include the langurs or hanu-
man monkeys, which have become famous by being connected
with the story of the Hindu epic — the Ramdyana. These occur
practically over the whole of India. The lemurs in India are re¬
presented by the slow loris occurring in the forests of Assam and
the slender loris living in the forests of South India.

The various groups of land carnivores are well represented in
india. Most of them, particularly the larger ones, constitute the
big game . for hunting. Amongst these, the Indian lions are at
present restricted to the forests of Kathiawar peninsula. The tigers
are widely distributed throughout India — in the snowy Himalayas,
in the evergreen forests and dry open jungles as well as in swamps
of the Sunderbans. The panther or the common Indian leopard,
the beautiful Himalayan snow leopard, lhe skin of which is in great
demand in the fur trade, and the cheetah or the hunting leopard
are the other large carnivores.

The smaller carnivores of the cat-group include, besides the
various forms of cats, the civets, the mongooses, and the hyaenas.
The other carnivores include the wolves, jackals, wild dogs, foxes,
as well as the bears, weasels, and otters.

The hoofed mammals constitute an important group of animals.
Because of the immense usefulness of many a member of this group,
these play an important part in the economic life of human beings.
The hoofed forms are either even-toed or odd-toed. The odd-toed
forms are the horse and ass, the rhinoceros and the elephant. Rhino¬
ceros in India is represented at the present day by the single race
of one-horned forms, which is now restricted to Assam and the
swamps and grassy jungles of low hills in parts of Nepal. The
elephants and the horses are both notable for the part they played
in the numerous battles fought on Indian soil in the early days of
history. The even-toed forms include the cattle, sheep and goats,

114

FIX3RA AND FAUNA

deer, gazelle and antelopes, and the boars and pigs. The cattle in
India include, besides domestic forms, the bison and the wild

buffalo.

The sheep and the goats are chiefly Himalayan. The goats in¬
clude the Himalayan form — the Asiatic ibex and the Nilgiri wild
goat or the South Indian ibex. The several races of deer found
in India live in more or less thick jungles. These include the bark-
ing-deer, the barasingha or swamp-deer, the sambar, the spotted-deer
or chital and the hog-deer. Another race found 'in the high ahi-
tudes of the Himalayas is the hornless dark brown musk-deer. The
male of this race bears beneath the skin of the abdomen a gland,
the secretion of which is known as musk, reputed for its various
uses especially for medicinal purposes. The mouse-deer or the
Indian chevrotain is another hornless race of very small size. The
black buck, the only representative in India of antelope, has beauti¬
ful spirally-twisted horns. The Nilgai is an inhabitant of open
forests whereas the four-horned chousingha lives in the forests in
the hilly tracts of peninsular India. The chinkara or Indian gazelle
lives in the deserts whereas the pigmy-hog occurs in the forests of
Eastern Himalayas. Pig-sticking or spearing wild hog from horse¬
back, is a favourite sport in India.

The insectivores include tree-shrews, hedgehogs, moles, and
shrews. The rodents include the squirrels and marmots, jerboas,
rats and mice, porcupines and hares.

The scaly ant-eater or Pangolin is common in India.

The bats include chiefly the large frugivorous flying foxes and
the small insectivorous bats.

The whales and dugongs are marine animals and are occasionally
found near the Indian coasts. The dolphin and the porpoise occur
in the rivers.

The bird life of India has attracted considerable interest due to
its remarkable variety and wide range of distribution The dis¬
tribution of birds in India is not, however, homogeneous. Migra¬
tion of birds is a well-known fact, but in India the migratory birds
are few in number and the few that migrate into the Indian region
come from the north only.

The familiar birds which are commonly found around human
habitations include the crows, the house, maynti, and the house spar¬
row. The crows include the common house crow and the jungle crow.
The ravens are larger in size than the jungle crows. The jack¬
daws and rooks found in Kashmir and parts of north-west India
are winter visitors from the northern region. The jackdaw has a
musical and melodious call and it makes a delightful pet. Of the
various maynds found in India the house mayna shares with the
crow the distinction of being the most familiar and best known
bird.

115

THE VEDIC AGE

The magpies are beautifully coloured birds usually living in
forests. These birds are very noisy and their call is harsh and un¬
pleasant. Tits are small birds inhabiting chiefly the forests. The
babblers and thrushes are gregarious birds feeding on the ground.
They are noisy chatterers par excellence . Warblers are small birds
usually living in open grassy tracts or sandy ground. The red-
vented bulbul is a common garden bird throughout India. It is
reputed for us cheerlul call notes. Tne well-known Indian robin
is the day ai, one of the best songsters. The shama is another
famous singing bird of India. The familiar pleasant call notes of
pee-ou-a produced by the golden oriole or the mango-bird in the
mango season are heard in -gardens as well as in forests both at
dawn and at sunset. There are many fly-catchers, which are usually
small birds. Another familiar bird is the king crow which is fre¬
quently found to chase crows. It is a common sight to find this
bird perching on telegraph wires beside the railway lines. The
weaver birds are noted for the curious flask-shaped nests . they
make. Tailor birds are well-known for their habit of sewing two
leaves together with a piece of grass as a receptacle for their nests.
Munias are smaller birds than the robins and are familiar cage
birds. Besides the parrots with green plumage and long tails which
are well-known as cage birds throughout India, the hill maynd is a
notable cage bird with wonderful powers of imitating the human
voice. Swallows and larks are usually winter visitors. These
generally sing while on the wing. The woodpecker is a familiar
bird in India. It has a long beak with the repeated strokes of which
it removes bark and rotten wood from tree trunks exposing termi¬
tes, ants, beetles and their larvae on which it feeds. Amongst the
barbets which are usually grass green in colour and frugivorous in
habit, the most familiar form is the Indian coppersmith found in
most Indian gardens and is known by its repeated metallic call like
the tap of a small hammer on metal in a monotonous manner for
some minutes. Some of the buntings which are common in winter
are notorious for causing damage in cornfields. The blue jay or
roller is one of the best known Indian birds seen in gardens and
orchards. With the end of winter it rolls in the air and with
harsh screams declares the advent of the spring.

The kingfisher represents another group of common Indian
birds. This has a beautifully coloured plumage. The hombill is
a forest bird with a broad casque over the large curved beak. It is
reputed to be the Garuda of the Hindus. The hoopoe is found
throughout India and is noted for its loud hoofs repeated two or
three times. The. common Indian swifts are famous as producers
of edible nests. The nightjars are well-known for their peculiar
notes in the earlier and later parts of the night resembling the
strokes of a hammer on a plank. They are considered of evil omen.

116

Flora and fauna

The cuckoos include several forms and all lay their eggs in the
nests of other birds. The call of the common Indian cuckoo is des¬
cribed as bou-kota-ko. The hawk cuckoo, commonly known as the
brain-fever bird, is reputed for its monotonous call notes in the hot
season, each repeated note being higher in the scale. The Indian
koel is another familiar bird, frugivorous in habit and commonly
found from March to July. Its call consisting of two syllables is
familiar to everyone in India. The male is glossy black and the
female brown and spotted. Koel lays eggs in the nests of the crows.

The owls are all nocturnal in habit. They feed on various
small animals particularly the squirrels, rats, and mice which cause
damage to crops and are therefore greatly beneficial to agriculture.
It is probably for this reason that the owl is associated with Lakshmi
—the goddess of wealth.

Indian birds of prey include the vultures, the different forms of
eagle, the various kites, the falcons, the hawks, the sikra, the
buzzard, etc., usually birds of larger sizes.

The pigeons, including the Blue Rock pigeon and the doves, are
common throughout India whereas the sand grouse is common in
open sandy tracts feeding on the ground.

The game birds in India include a variety of forms. Those
living on land include the pea and jungle fowls, the pheasants,
partridges, quails, etc. The pea fowls are famous for their splendidly
coloured plumage and peculiar habit of being noisy at the approach
of rain. The red jungle fowl is essentially a forest bird and is
regarded as the ancestor of all domesticated poultry. The common
quail is well-known as a bird for sport, a favourite delicacy for the
table and a cage bird for fighting. The common grey partridges
are usually captured with decoy birds and are favourite cage birds.
Morning and evening the wild ringing notes of tit-ee-roo of these
birds are amongst the familiar bird sounds of India.

Of the aquatic game birds the moorhen is widely distributed.
Another one is the familiar water cock or Kora. This is often tamed
for fighting. Others include the Jacana and the snipes.

Amongst the cranes, the well-known form is the Sarus crane.
The gulls are generally found in sea coasts but also occur along with
the terns about inland waters. The spotted-billed pelican is purely
a water bird seldom seen on land. Other familiar aquatic birds
are the common cormorants and the snake birds. The brown
dipper is an aquatic bird characteristic of the hill streams of the
Himalayas.

Ibises, storks, herons, and spoonbills constitute a well-known
group of Indian birds.

Other notable birds living about well-watered regions include
the ducks, the pochard, and the grebes. The Brahminy ducks com¬
monly known as chakha and chakhi are found in pairs.

117

V .A. — 8

THE VEDIC AGE

Reptiles. — The crocodiles and the snakes are the most notable
animals amongst tne reptiles, which also include the lizards, and
the tortoises and turtles. The crocodiles which are oh particular in¬
terest as attaciting human beings are represented by the fresnwater
broad-snouted^ form Known as the mugger and by the estuarine
crocodile. Crocodiles are often hunted for their sKin which
fetches a high price. Besides these, one tinds the gharial — a purely
iisn-eatmg river crocodile.

The lorms of land tortoises in India are few in number. The
shells of these are prettily marked. The freshwater tortoises are
.herbivorous and edible. Of the turtles, the freshwater forms are
carnivorous and aggressive. The carapace in these is covered by
a soft skin.

The lizards in India are remarkably numerous. These include
geckos, chameleons, skinks, monitors, etc. The chameleons are com¬
mon in the forest region of peninsular India. These are well known
for their capacity to change colour. The skin of the monitor or
varanus is in great demand, and there is a considerable trade in
varanus skin.

The snakes in India have attracted much attention because of
the large number of deaths amongst human beings and domesti¬
cated animals caused by bites of poisonous ones. India is the only
country in the world where almost all the forms of known snakes
occur. The worm-like subterranean typhlops are the smallest
known snakes. The largest living snakes found in India are the
pythons and boas. The common non-poisonous snakes are the
rat snakes or dhaman, the carpet snakes, the grass snakes, and the
water snakes. Amongst the venomous snakes in India the com¬
monest form is the cobra with the hood unmarked or marked either
with a single large ocellus or with two ocelli connected together by
a curved line. There is also a black variety of cobra. Another
deadly poisonous snake is the krait. This includes the banded ones
with alternate bands of black and yellow. The large-sized king
cobra is known to be extremely fierce and aggressive. The other
poisonous snakes in India are the various forms of vipers. These
have broad flat heads and are without hoods.

Amongst the snakes two forms deserve special mention. The
tree or whip snake is a beautiful slender snake usually of green
colour frequently seen in trees, bushes,, and creepers twined round
the stems. Another one is the beautifully coloured kalnagini.
Though its name implies its deadly venomous character, it is in
fact a non-poisonous snake and is frequently reared as a favourite
pet. The so-called double-headed snake carried by snake charmers
has a blunt tail which is occasionally manipulated and furnished
with glass eyes to assist in the delusion.

The Batrachians. — The frogs and toads representing the tailless

118

FLORA AND FAUNA

batrachians are common throughout India in ponds, streams, and all
damp places. Ot‘ tne tailed batrachians only the Indian salamander
is lound in India. The apodous forms include the worm-like
burrowers.

Fishes, — India is remarkable for its abundant fish fauna which
accounts for the large section of its population depending on fishes
as the staple protein diet. The fishes exhibit a considerable diver¬
sity in their structure and habits due to the great variety of habi¬
tats in which they live. Besides living in inland rivers, streams,
ponds, and marshes, they are found in the estuaries as also in the
coastal regions and open seas. The marine forms occasionally
migrate upward into the estuarine waters and similarly certain
fiuviatile forms pass down into the estuarine waters. Many fishes
behave as larvaecidal agents. Use of such fishes against the growth
of mosquito larvae plays an important role in the control of malaria
— one of the prevalent diseases in India.

Amongst the cartilaginous fishes, which abound in Indian seas,
some of the sharks and rays occasionally ascend large tidal rivers.
The high nutritive value of the shark liver oil has opened up an
exceedingly important trade in the fishing of sharks. The dried
fins of both sharks and rays are exported to China while the flesh
of some forms is regarded as a delicacy by certain people, chiefly of
the poorer classes.

Amongst the bony fishes the most important are the carp.
These are inhabitants of freshwater and many of them, particularly
the major carp, bring high prices as edible fishes. Smaller carp
are found in rivers and streams in large numbers. The scaleless
cat fishes are well represented in India. Amongst the Indian
herrings which include several coastal and estuarine fishes, the
most important fish is the hilsa, the flesh of which is highly flavour¬
ed. Amongst the perch which occur in India in fairly large numbers,
the most valuable and largely used food fish is the bhekti of Bengal
which grows to a weight of 200 pounds. Others, which are reputed
as good edible fishes, include the freshwater forms such as nandus,
the estuarine or coastal forms such as the mango-fish, the mackerels,
pomfrets, tunny, and the mullets. The notopterid chitals represent
a well-known group of very compressed fishes. They are highly
prized as good edible fishes due to the rich content of fat. Re¬
markable in India is the occurrence of the air-breathing fishes in¬
cluding the snake-headed fishes, the climbing perch, the scaleless
fishes such as singhee and magur and the snake-like cunchia. These
are found in every region where there is accumulation of water.
There are several forms of flat fish in India. In the hill streams the
sucker fishes occur. The globe fishes, pipe fishes, and the sea horses
are a few other interesting forms found in the estuarine and coastal
regions. Peculiar fishes of the estuaries and mud flats of the coastal

119

THE VEDIC AGE

region are the mud skippers. The flying fish which inhabit the
open seas are common about India.

Lower Chordates, — The lower chordates, including the balano-
glossus, the sea-squirt, and the amphioxus are not uncommon in the
seas around the coast of India.

2, The Invertebrates

Tne mver ieor ate group comprising me less-known forms of
animal lite is in no way less important man the vertebrate one nor
less remarxabic in variety ana numbers. Many invertebrate ani¬
mals are airectiy benehciai to man wnereas many others are harm¬
ful, injurious, ana cause extensive damage to life and property.
Many invertebrate animals provide articles used for commercial
purposes and on these are basea various industries of man. Tne
invertebrates constitute an enormously large section of animals
and only a few of the more important lorms of the different groups
are mentioned below in order to complete this sketch of the fauna
of India.

The molluscs or shelled animals are well represented in India.
They arc found in estuaries, in fresh waters, in coastal waters as
well as in the open seas around. The bivalved mussels as well as
various forms of snails, including the apple snails, are found in
ponds. Many gastropods of both shelled and naked varieties and
the squids, cuttle fishes, octopus, and nautilus are inhabitants of
the seas. The gastropod shells commonly known as cowries are
reputed for their use in the past as exchange money. The blowing
of chanks or conches is associated with sacred ceremobies and
there has developed a good trade in the way of preparing bangles
from chank for the women folk of India. The molluscan shells
provide materials for road construction and are used in the prepa¬
ration of lime. The oysters are used as articles of food and provide
the source for the development of pearls. The pearl oysters are
found in the coastal seas. Pearl fishing was a highly developed in¬
dustry in ancient India and there is a great possibility of this trade
in future.

The arthropods forming the largest group of animals are well re¬
presented. Various forms of prawns, shrimps, lobsters, different types
of crabs and the numerous small crustaceans occur in fresh waters,
in estuaries, on sandy beaches, and in the seas. Amongst insects,
in India are found the various forms of ants, wasps, hornets, honey
bees, the cockroaches, white ants, numerous forms of butterflies
and moths, the glow worms, mosquitoes of different types, locusts,
grasshoppers, dragon flies, various forms of beetles, fleas, etc. Some
predatory insects such as the praying mantis are beneficial by feed¬
ing upon injurious forms. The honey bee is of great benefit as
producer of honey and wax. Some of the mosquitoes, certain flies

120

FLORA AND FAUNA

and the fleas, are definitely harmful and injurious and they act
as transmitters of diseases and agents in spreading sources of in¬
fection. The locusts are the most well knowrn among those which
cause extensive damage to crops, whereas the silk moths and the
lac insects are but two instances where these produce valuable in¬
dustrial and commercial materials. In India, where there is an
abundance of vegetation, the insects, particularly the butterflies,
play an important role in bringing about pollination and the dispersal
of seeds. Peripatus — a form intermediate between the segmented
animals and the arthropoda — is found in the forests of the hilly
tracts of Assam. The centipedes and millipedes are common
throughout India. The scorpions and spiders are represented by
various forms. In the coastal seas of India the king crab is found
in fairly large numbers.

Echinoderms, or the groups of animals including the star fishes,
the various urchins, etc., are all marine and found in the seas around
the coasts. Of the segmented animals, the earthworms and the
leeches of various types, including the large-sized cattle leech, ate
found all over India. The burrowing segmented form known as
the nereis is found in the shallow coastal seas. Sponges occur
chiefly in the seas but freshwater sponges are not uncommon in
inland waters such as ponds. The coelenterates occur in abundance
in the seas surrounding the Indian peninsula. These include the
medusae, the jelly fishes, the sea anemones, etc. The skeleton,
which is present in many of these, especially of the sea anemones,
forms the different types of beautiful coloured corals including the
precious red corals. The worms are represented by the round worms
and by the flat worms, including the various tape worms. Most
of these are parasitic on other animals, especially the vertebrates,
and pathogenic, causing diseases. Various wheel animalculae occur
in ponds and other freshwater regions. The protozoa or the uni¬
cellular animals include a large number of forms. Some of these
such as the malarial parasite, the leishmania. the entamoeba, cause
serious diseases in human beings and often bring about the death
of the victim. Others, such as trvoanosoma, babesia, coccidia. cause
diseases of domesticated cattle and fowl and thus lead to huge losses
of prooerty. There are numerous free-living forms and also manv
parasitic forms which are however not pathogenic.

1. Introductory Essay to the Flora hidica, p. 91.

121

■

BOOK TWO

THE PREHISTORIC AGE

CHAPTER VII

PALAEOLITHIC, NEOLITHIC AND COPPER AGES

I. PALAEOLITHIC AGE

We have comparatively very scanty data on Early Man and his
environment. Surface finds from the Punjab, Rajputana, Gujarat,
Central India, Central Provinces, Karnatak, Mysore, South India.
Bihar, Assam, and Bengal testify to the widespread existence of
man who fashioned rough stone implements mainly of quartzite.
These were similar in shape and make to those known to be palaeo¬
lithic tools in Europe, but as in a majority of cases their stratigra¬
phic relation was not known, they could not be assigned to a definite
geological age. Recent researches have, however, contributed ma¬
terially to our knowledge of Early Man in three or four provinces
of India.

We begin with the Punjab. Except for the fact that it was
one of the earliest homes of the Aryans, nothing definite was known
about its first settlers, prior to the glacio-archaeologic work of the
Yale-Cambridge expedition in 1935. 2 It is now more or less esta¬
blished that Early Man first entered the foothills of the North-West
Punjab, the area traversed by the Soan, Haro, and other rivers
within the Indus-Jhelum Doab, and comprised within the Rawalpindi
and Attock districts of the Punjab and Jammu in Kashmir State, at
the end of the First Inter-Glacial Period and the beginning of the
Second Ice Age in the south-west Himalayas. Human existence is
testified to by the presence of large flakes which are found emb°dded
in fan-shaped boulder gravels of this period (TO in the Siwalik
foothills and plains in North-West Punjab. Punch, and Jammu.

I. First Inter-Glacial Age

Though the earliest implements of man have come from the
immediately succeeding stratum, viz. the Boulder Conglomerate
zone of the second glacial epoch, it would seem that man had ac¬
tually inhabited the area almost at the end of the First- Inter-Glacial
stage. The conditions for existence were not particularly favour¬
able either for mammals or men in the Second Ice Age, to the first
phase of which the Boulder Conglomerate stratum is assigned. The
climate was not only colder and stormier, but the rainfall was
heavier than today, as the deeply stained gravels and implements
show. In fact only a few rolled bones of bovoids and proboscideans
are found in this deposit.

So far implements have been found in the Boulder Conglome¬
rate at five sites. Three of these — Kallar, Chaomukh, and Malak-

125

THE VEDIC AGE

pur — are in the valley of the Jhelum and its tributaries, the fourth
site is near Adial on the Sohan (Soan), and the fifth on the Tawi,
a tributary of the Chenab near Jammu.

All the implements are made of quartzite and are in s worn
condition. t The upper surface is usually unflaked except for one
or two small irregular scars. The under surface, having flat bulbs,
but prominent cones, must fce the primary flaked surface and has a
large plain, unfaceted striking platform at angles varying from 100
degrees to 125 degrees. No retouch is visible except on one find
from Kallar. The edges are broken, whether by use or naturally
cannot be said.?

Typologically as well as stratigraphically this earliest Punjab
industry differs from the rest and hence it is called the Pre-Soan
industry, to distinguish it from the later industry most of whose sites
are on the Soan.

2. Second Inter-Glacial Age and Early Soan Industry

The Soan itself has two distinct groups. The. early Soan
and l$te Soan. Tools of the former group are found in Terraces
To and Ti and later gravels mostly along the Indus. These have
been observed at Khushalgarh, Makhad and Injra and at Gariala
on the Haro river south-east of Attock.

Geologically these terraces are assignable to the Second Inter-
Glacial Stage. This interval is believed to be very long, when the
climate was drier, but owing to continued uplift of the Pir Panjel
range, as evidenced by the tilted plains near Chaomukh and Jammu,
there was great erosion. This may have destroyed the evidence
of the rich contemporary fossil fauna without which man, whose
existence is revealed by numerous sites, could not have lived in the
area.

Unlike the Pre-Soan tools, the early Soan tools are made from
varieties of fine-grained quartzite as well as fine smooth greenish -
grey Panjal trap.

Patination and the state of wear divide these tools into three
groups, which may be called A, B, C. Group A is the earliest and
is heavily patinated, deep brown or purple and much rolled. Group
B is deeply patinated like A but unworn, and Group C is less pati¬
nated and fairly fresh.

Among all these groups there are pebble tools, scrapers and
flakes, the first-named predominating. There is evidence of typo-
logic development towards smaller and neater forms, but it does
not synchronize with the stratigraphic evidence.

The pebble tools are all prepared from smooth, rounded rolled
pebbles and small boulders. These, when further subdivided, give
us («) flat-based, and (b) rounded, pebble tools.

True discoidal cores often with a patch of cortex in the centre

126

PALAEOLITHIC. NEOLITHIC AND COPPER AGES

of one or both surfaces are also found in this group. These cores
are similar to the Clactonian and early Levalloisian forms.

There are two kinds of flakes. The first has a high-angled plain
platform and. though similar to the Early Soan B, is neater and
better and more primarily flaked. In the second kind, much smaller,
the angle is low arid the platform unfaceted. While there is evi¬
dence of use, on these tools there is very little of secondary flaking.

The Soan valley has also yielded other types of tools, probably
of the Second Inter-Glacial Age, though they are roiled and occur
in the gravels of the Third Glacial phase. These tools comprise
hand-axes, cores and flakes, and a couple of crude cleavers. Typo¬
logical Jy. very much rolled hand-axes are assigned to the Abbe¬
villian or Lower Acheulian. and the less rolled, with more regular
outline and neater step flaking, to the middle Acheulian.

Mention must be made of the few flakes which show typical
Acheulian technique with plain platforms and parallel primary
flaking, and one or two showing signs of crude retouching.

3. Third Ice Age and Late Soan Indust7my

Between the Early Soan and Late Soan industries intervened
the Third Ice Age, and the latter are assigned to this period. During
this glaciation which was comparatively less extensive, a vast amount
of loessic (wind-borne) silt was deposited over the Potwar, a pheno¬
menon which is attributed to the interaction of several factors:
accumulated silt owing to inundation, erosion, mountain glaciation,
and violent dust storms. Since the Late Soan tools come from the
basal Potwar gravel and loess which is attributed to the Third Ice
Age, it is suggested that Early Man had witnessed the beginning of
these dust-storms in the Punjab where they are an annual feature
in the summer nowadays.

Few fossils have been found in these huge loessic deposits.4
But it is suggested that vegetation must have been more abundant
in plains and the fauna may have been similar to that of the Nar¬
mada valley, where remains of horse, buffalo, straight-tusked ele¬
phant, and hippopotamus were discovered in association with Early
Palaeolithic tools. However, the Potwar loess (perhaps its upper
horizon) has yielded twelve types of fossil invertebrates, molluscs
(fresh water and land) and gastropods.

The Late Soan industry^ is stratigraphically and typologically
divisible into two groups. In Late Soan A some specimens are
worn. Both pebble tools and flake and core tools occur, but the
latter outnumber the former.

Among pebble tools, a form which appears late in Early Soan,
viz. a “side scraper”-like implement, made on a roughly oval pebble,
with cortexed butt on one side, and flaking along the opposite side,
and a wavy straight or convex edge is common.

127

THE VEDIC AGE

Three other earlier forms arc also found. But a new type is
seen in a form where a small ovoid pebble is intentionally broken
at an oblique angle to produce a flat base. Two or more flakes are
struck upwards from the under-surface on the side that makes an
acute angle with the bases. Some specimens exhibit retouch cn the
edge.

There are many forms of cores. Flakes are of two types:
(1) simple, and (2) with retouched edges.

Late Soan B tools are found in a deposit of wind-borne silt
above the gravel of the Third Glacial Age. They are fresh and
unworn.*

Mainly two types of cores occur, one of which was already
noticed in Late Soan A.

Flakes again are generally of the LevalJoisian type. They are
mostly blades or elongated flakes, and a few triangular or oval.

4. Third Inter-Glacial Age: Chauntra Industry

So far the only tools met with were pebble tools and flakes.
But at a few sites, particularly at Chauntra on the Soan river, some
totally different kinds of tools7 were chiselled out from a gravel
which may be of the Third Inter-Glacial Age. This was again a
period of stream erosion, as a result of which the river beds were
deepened, and lakes emptied. Mountain uplift also must have
taken place. However, as in earlier stages, there are few evidences
of loessic deposits.

5. Fourth Ice Age Tools

Pebble tools and flakes found at Dhok Pathan near Pindi Gheb
on the Sil river, a tributary of the Soan, are supposed to be later,
possibly of the Fourth Glacial Age. The tools which include pebble
tools, cores and unfaceted flakes are “regarded as representing
a late, localized industry of peculiar facies, showing marked simi¬
larities, in a greatly developed form, to the Early Soan industries
of the Indus region.”

Early Man thus seems to have inhabited the Punjab from the
end of the First Inter-Glacial period onwards right through the
succeeding three glacial and two inter-glacial periods. As no human
remains have been found along with the implements, it is impossible
to say whether the same race witnessed such great climatical changes,
and ultimately produced the fine hand-axe and flake industry noticed
at Chauntra, or other races came at different periods, or the old
and new races lived together.

The evidence detailed before indicates that pebble and flake
industries developed together in the same area alongside the Ab-
bevillian-Acheulian hand-axe industries. In the former pebble
tools become smaller and neater, and the flakes of Clactonian facies

128

Palaeolithic, neolithic and copper ages

— crude, umaceied and devoid oi intentional primary naKmg — are
later associated witn neater lorrns sucn as Levauoisian type and have
regular and convergent primary naKing, faceted piatxorms, and fine
retouching, if any.

The hand-axe industry is for the first time associated with the
Soan hake and pebble industry at (Jnauntra, and here alone it rea¬
ches its acme, flowering into a fine late Acheulian type.

On the basis of this contact, for which the evidence is so far.
slight, De Terra has said that Early Man entered the Punjab together
with nis hand-axe industry from the south.

After the Punjab comes Rajputana where stray, mostly surface
finds have been made. The few Rajputana specimens come from
Jaipur, Bundi, and Indargarh.8 These are generally of quartzite,
but reddish-brown sandstone accounts for one specimen. Among
the tools two types of hand-axes are visible. One is pointed ovate
and the other is ovoid. It is roughly chipped and called “Boucher”
by Coggin Brown.

Rajputana leads us to Gujarat. Here, as elsewhere, only surface
finds were made in the last century. But since the discoverer —
Bruce Foote — had given good clues together with an excellent
study of the stratigraphy of the Sabarmati valley, the task of obtain¬
ing stratigraphical evidence was comparatively easy. And it was
obtained by the First Gujarat Pre-historic Expedition.9 During its
survey of the middle reaches of the Sabarmati, a distance of over
100 miles from Hadol in the north to Del wad in the south, five more
palaeolithic sites were discovered. Of these the most important
were Hadol, Pedhamli, and Ghadhara; of lesser importance Phu-
dera, Aglod, Hirpura, Kot, and Warsora.

The implements are mostly fresh and a few only rolled or semi-
rolled, with worn-out edges and flake scars. Typologically they
comprise: (1) hand-axes (including sub-types), (2) cleavers, (3)
scrapers, (4) flakes, and (5) pebble tools.

No clear evidence of sequence corresponding to the succession
of the three or two main phases of the old alluvium, viz. the gravel
conglomerate and the reddish' silt, is -visible in the industry. For
the two main typologic features of the industry, which from the
predominant tool type has to be called hand-axe industry, arc
evident in practically all types of tools from the lower stratum.
Thus there are:

(a) Tools with irregular line, rough ‘step’ flaking, and pebble
cortex at the butt-end or over part of both the surfaces.

(b) Tools with regular outline, wavy edges, comparatively
smooth “step” flaking and no pebble cortex or the cortex patch
at a definite place.

While this is generally true, there are three specimens — two hand-

129

THE VEDIC AGE

axes, one pear-shaped, and the other very thin, perfectly symmetrical
ovate, and an U-shaped cleaver — from the upper part of the reddish
silt which are so fine as to suggest a late typologic evolution corres¬
ponding to the uppermost phase of the alluvium.

Typologically these three varieties of hand-axes bear close
resemblance to (i) the Abbevillian-Early Acheulian, (ii) the Middle
Acheulian, and (iii) the Late Acheulian industries of Madras and
the Punjab as well as those of Europe, and similar sequences observed
in the Nile Valley and the rest of Africa.

A site bearing similar cultural products was discovered by the
expedition in the Orsang valley at Bahadarpur. Here the gravel is
loose and uncemented and is approximately at a height of twenty-
five feet from the present river bed, and underlies deposits of black
cotton soil and brownish silt. The top of the gravel yielded a few
finds of quartz and quartzite. Unlike the Sabarmati specimens, the
majority of the Orsang tools are rolled or semi-rolled and a few only
fresh. Typologically these comprise (a) hand-axes, ovate, and
pear-shaped, (b) flakes, one of which is a definite blade, and (c)
pebble tools.

The Karjan, a tributary of the Orsang and Narmada, has also
given a similar promise of the Old Stone Age culture. Here tools,
hand-axes, U-shaped cleavers, of Vaal technique, beautiful discoids
and pebble tools of trap have been found.10

We next proceed to the Upper Narmada Valley, where strati*
graphical data for the existence of Early Man are available. Un¬
fortunately even now a complete idea of this stone industry cannot
be formed, as the specimens found by the Yale-Cambridge Expedi¬
tion are not fully described. However, the expedition succeeded
in establishing the relationship of a middle Pleistocene fauna with
an early Palaeolithic industry, a relationship which was so far pre¬
sumed on the strength of a solitary tool — an ovate hand-axe from a
site at Bhutara and fossil mammalian remains. Stratigraphic cor¬
relation is also attempted between the Punjab and the Central Indian
Pleistocene on geologic and archaeological evidence.11

Narmada Valley has given a glimpse of the various types of
industries — Early and Late Soan and the Abbevillian and the Acheu¬
lian hand-axe-cleaver. At some localities there is a mixture of
the different types, whereas at one locality near Narsinghpur the
Late Soan seems to replace the Acheulian culture. De Terra, how¬
ever, would tentatively suggest that the Narmada “lower group re¬
presents the true Acheulian and early Soan, and the upper group the
Late Soan Industry.” If this were really so, the two Narmada
gravel groups could * be correlated with the Terrace(, Terracej,
Terraces:{-4 of the Punjab. Whether it was actually so or whether
the various industries flourished simultaneously, the gravels' belong-

130

PALAEOLITHIC , NEOLITHIC AND COPPER AGES

ing to one geologic age, can be determined only by further research
and collection of fuller data.

The rest of the evidence in Central India and the Central
Provinces consists of surface finds collected in the last century
from Saugor, Damoh, Kewah, and Bundelkhand. 1 2 In this region,
which is the meeting-place of the three great geological formations,
viz. the quartzite (which has principally developed on the west,
in North Gujarat, and Rajputana), the sandstone (in Central India),
and the trap (which extends from the Malwa plateau towards the
south), tools of all these materials are found. Typologically the
tools are similar to those of Rajputana and North Gujarat.

Further east a few finds have been reported from Bengal, Bihar,
and Orissa, from Paloncha, on the eastern outskirts of the Hydera¬
bad State, and from Hyderabad itself.13 So far Bengal had given
few palaeoliths but recently a large number has been discovered at
Kuliana, in Mayurbhanj State (Orissa).14 The tools are quartzite
and include:

(a) Pebble tools, some of which resemble crude hand-axes, and
others cleavers. There are also choppers, ovate forms and awl-like
pointed tools.

(b) Core tools, both faces worked.

South of the Vindhyas, after the Narmada Valley, the next
important region is the Konkan coastal strip and the Deccan plateau.
Little work was done in the latter, because of its peculiar geological
formation. However, fossil fauna of the middle Pleistocene period
was found at Mungi and Nandur Madhmeshwar in the Godavari
valley. At the former site an agate flake was noticed in the same
stratum. Following up these clues the present writer and his as¬
sociates have been carrying out a systematic survey of the valley.
It has yielded small flakes, blades, and cores of agate, jasper, chalce¬
dony, bloodstone, and trap,15 but no heavy tools like hand-axes or
choppers.

Rude stone implements have been reported from the vicinity
of Bombay since 1880. Much of this early work is, however, mere
surface collection and not well illustrated. Slight but important is
the notice by Todd16 of Palaeolithic industries in the Salsette Island
north of Bombay. Here at Borivli, Kandivli, and other suburbs he
discovered tools comprising hand-axes, cleavers, flakes, blades,
and microliths. It appears that hand-axes and cleavers were found
only at Kandivli. Here no less than six strata were observed.
Scrapers, cores, and choppers were found in “Lower Clay” and
over its “top,” forming the lowest stratum over the rock. Over-
lying this clay there is a deposit of reddish-brown gravel. In it
were found many implements of Chellean and Clactonian type,
and on its top, implements of Clactonian type in mint condition, as

131

THE VEDlC AGE

well as late Acheulian types. The Konkan, with its sequence oi
industries, thus promises to be one of the key areas for understand¬
ing the evolution of Stone Age cultures in Western India.

It is likely that similar early palaeolithic culture flourished in
the -region lower down, in Southern Konkan and eastwards above
the Ghats in the Karnatak area. Foote found an extinct type of
rhinoceros and hand-axes in the hard kankar cemented shingle bed
of the Bennihalla, a tributary of the Malaprabha in the Dharwar
district, and also in the shingle bed of the Malaprabha itself in the
Bijapur district. These tools are large ovate hand-axes and cleavers
of quartzite, very much resembling similar tools from the Konkan
and the Sabarmati.

Foote also found a few palaeoliths in the Mysore Karnatak.17
Some he found “scattered on the pale quartzite shingle bed capping
the- high ground south-eastward of the town of Kadur” and also
at Nyamti, sixteen miles south of Shimoga; others from the laterite
debris near the villages of Nidaghatta and Lingadahalli south of
Sakrapatna. Two of the latter are of white quartz, all the rest of
quartzite. The quartzite specimens are mostly patinated. There
are no cleavers, the hand-axes are of oval, ovoid and triangular types.
Discs and discoids are also found. No palaeoliths have been report¬
ed further south on the Malabar coast.

In contrast to these scanty notices of palaeolithic finds on the
west coast of India, the east coast area with the suitable material
from the Eastern Ghats has proved very rich in these finds. Bar¬
ring the southern extremity, viz. the Tinnevelly district and some
gaps from West Godavari district to Gan jam in the north, palaeo¬
liths have been found from most other districts, viz. ■ Madura,
Trichinopoly, North and South Arcot, * Chingleput, Chitoor, Cud-
dapah, Anantpur, Bellary, Nellore, Kurnool, Guntur, and Krishna,
of the Madras Presidency. Of these North Arcot, Chingleput,
Cuddapah, Bellary, and Kurnool districts yielded the largest
number.

In the Madura district the finds were collected “from a shingle
bed in the alluvium of the Yaigai, on the left bank of the river,
immediately north of Madura town”; in the Tanjore district from
the “laterite deposit lying to the south-east of Vallam and south¬
west of Tanjore city”; in the Trichinopoly district “from the laterite
forming the plateau east of Ninniyur, forty-five miles north-east of
Trichinopoly town”; in the Bellary district “on the surface of the
shingle fans lying along the foot of the copper mountain south of
Bellary town,” also from the Halakundi shingle fans and other
sites; in the Cuddapah district from “thin spreads of late¬
rite gravel,7 7 in Rayachoti Taluk ; in the North Arcot district “in
connection with laterite gravels’7; in the Chingleput district in the
laterite conglomerate at various places; in the Nellore district “most-

132

PALAEOLITHIC, NEOLITHIC AND COPPER AGES

iy washed out of the laterite gravels resting, on the gneissic rocks”;
in the Mancru valley; in the Kurnool district “in the valley of the
Khunder near Koodrar in lateritic gravels”; in the Guntur and
Krishna districts ‘from the highlevel gravels” at Ippatam and
Oostapalli on the Krishna.

The above review shows that the laterite beds in south-east
India are implementiferous. But since Foote had not worked out
the stratigraphy completely, nor indicated the typological relation
between the finds from the laterite gravel and other gravels and
the surface, the value of his large number of finds is mainly typo¬
logical and not so much cultural.

This want has been to some extent supplied by Carnmiade’s
work in the Kurnool and Krishnaswami’s and Paterson’s work in
the Chingleput district. Cammiade in collaboration with Burkitt
has given a correlation of the sequence of industries and stratigraphy
with that of climatic changes in south-east India.10

According to these authors the tools can be stratigraphically
and typologicaily divided into four main groups which synchronize
with two dry and two semi-humid periods, the first two alternating
with two pluvial periods. Tools found in the laterite pebble bed
in the Bhavnasi gravels at Krishnapuram (78'* 73' and 15° 40'). on
the western entrance of the Atmakur-Dornala Pass, “in the derived
quartzite pebble bed" on the Ralluvagu and Yerra-konda-Falem (79’
10-15' and 15' 40-45'j on the eastern entrance of the same pass, in
“the derived laterite” bed on the bank of the Sagileru. at Giddaiur
(73'* 55' and 15' 22-23') near the Nandikanama Pass, and from the
upper part of the laterite overlying the gneiss basal bed at Gundla
Bhrameshvaram. a little to the south of the Krishna, constitute the
earliest series comprising hand-axes (of quartzite) rather roughly
flaked, slightly rolled, and stained with laterite; whereas tools
from the superimposed layer of red ailuvial clay at Krishnapuram
constitute the second series comprising mostly flakes, and a few
neatly made hand-axes (of quartzite, sandstone, and chalcedony).
Tools of series three and four comprise microlith-like and microliths
respectively.

The work of Krishnaswami ■ 3 and Paterson20 has still further
advanced our knowledge of the palaeolithic industries in the Chin¬
gleput district. The former discovered tools in the pre-laterite
Boulder Conglomerate at Vadamadurai. whereas the two together
observed a system of four terraces in the Korttalaiyar Valley, the
laterite conglomerate of the Terrace T» at Attirampakkam yielding,
os it did to Foote, numerous palaeoliths. typologicaily similar to
those from the main detrital laterite overlying the Boulder Conglo¬
merate at Vadamadurai.

The technical stages of two series of tools from the Boulder
Conglomerate have been described in European terminology as re-

133

THE VED1C AGE

prescribing the Abbevillian and the earliest Acheulian; that of the
tools from the laterite gravel as resembling the middle Acheiilian;
and that from the layer above laterite as “probably upper Acheulian. 5

The hand-axes and cleavers from the Attirampakkam laterite
are considered to be Late Acheulian or, according to Krishnaswami,
Late Acheulian, Micoquian, and Levalloisian. The Madras
Museum abounds in collections from other districts: CudcLapah,
Nellore, Anantpur, and Kurnool. Of these the collections made
by Manley2 1 from Nellore and Drummond from Kurnool deserve
mention.

From the above review it would appear that practically every
part of India except the great Indo-Gangetic plain has given traces
of its hoary antiquity. But excepting a few areas, nowhere is the
stratigraphical sequence of the Stone Age cultures worked out.
Until this is made available, it would be hazardous to opine in what
part of India Early Man originated, and what the exact relation22
is either in time or between the Stone Age cultures above review¬
ed. ~The accepted geological antiquity of and the favourable
climatic conditions on the eastern coast of South India, and the
reported finds from the pre-laterite Boulder Conglomerate at Vada-
madurai would, however, give ground for a view that Early Man
in India originated in South India, and migrated towards the Pun¬
jab at the close of the First Ice Age.

2. THE MESOLITHIC AGE

The cultures which succeeded the Palaeolithic in Europe and
certain parts of Africa exhibit certain definite features. On the
correlation of these with stratigraphic sequence obtainable at a
few sites, two main cultural stages have been recognized: (1) the
Transitional or the Mesolithic; (2) the Neolithic. The old glacial
conditions had more or less gone and Europe experienced a long
dry spell. With the climatic changes the flora and fauna also
changed, and most probably a new race of people entered Europe.
Culturally, however, this new race was still in the hunting stage.
It did not produce food. And above all the implements used were
primarily of stone, though bone was also used.

But the nature of these tools is absolutely different. These
are extremely small, about an inch or so in length. The technique
of making them is also different. Hence they are called microliths
or pygmy tools. Except a few Tardenoisian sites in France, and a
few in England, most of these implements have been found from
the surface, on loessic mounds, or in sandy areas.

Such microliths have been found in practically the whole of
India. Foote23 noticed them from almost all the districts of South
India, including Tinnevelly. Hyderabad Stale. Gujarat. Kathiawar.
Central India, Central Provinces, and Chota Nagpur, whereas

134

PALAEOLITHIC, NEOLITHIC AND COFFER AGES

subsequent workers have discovered them in Cutch24 and the Pun¬
jab22. But unnke Europe, these were all sunace collections. In
the absence of startigraphical evidence or otner cultural objects
from weii-conductea excavations it k not possible to assign the
microiiths in all these areas to a mesolithic period, in some instances
microhms appear in dolmens with iron implements; in others with
pottery which can be dated to the fourth century B. C. Thus in
different regions, according to their geographical situation and cul¬
tural development, microiiths have been in use as forming composite
tools and weapons at widely different periods. These might extend
from the mesolithic to historic times.

Small but systematic excavations at the site of Brahmagiri (Chi-
taldurg district, Mysore) and at Langhnaj (Mehsana Taluk in Guja¬
rat) have produced evidence to show that at least at these two sites
the microiiths might belong to the mesolithic cultural phase.

At Brahmagiri both neoliths and microiiths appeared at the
five-foot level, but later at eight feet only, microiiths were found.20
So it is suggested that at this site, called Roppa after the nearest
village, micro-neolithic culture, comparable to the Compignian of
France, flourished. Whether it is so old in point of .time cannot be
determined,1 for it yet remains to be proved stratigraphically, as
has been shown in Europe, that such cultures are post-Quaternary,
and earlier than -true Neolithic.

Almost similar is the case with notices of microlithic cultures
in the rock-shelters in the Mahadeo Hills at Panchmarhi27 and at
LFchali28 near Naushahra in the Punjab. At the latter site micro¬
iiths were found in association with neolithic-like pottery and
skeletal remains of Homo sapiens , which were in very friable condi¬
tion. At the former site pottery was found in the first few inches, but
below it, a foot deeper, there was no pottery at all. Dr. Hunter who
conducted the excavation thought the culture to be pre-Neolithic,
whereas on the evidence of paintings on the rock, it is surmised
that the culture cannot be older than the second century B.C. It
must be said that Major Gordon,29 whose study of the paintings is
indeed scholarly, has not pointed out any stratigraphical or cultural
relationship between the paintings and the microiiths. It. is quite
possible that potsherds, which Dr. Hunter found on .the surface, be¬
long to the earliest or some phase of the paintings, but that there is
no connection between the paintings and microiiths,.

Excavations in the loessic mounds at Langhnaj,30 as well as at
Hirpura in Northern Gujarat, have recently brought to light a rich
microlithic culture. Potsherds usually occur up to the first three
feet from the surface, along with mircroliths and a few fossilized
(calcified) remains of animals. Deeper, up to six to seven feet, only
microiiths, in association with numerous bone splinters, including
a number of large bones of animals (such as ribs, shoulder blades,

135

THE VEDIC AGE

astragalli, humerus, tibia, teeth, and parts of jaw, fish vertebrae,
skeletons of lizards, and other many hitherto unidentified remains)
together with seven human skeletons (one. intact, and the rest more
or less incomplete) have been found.

From the total absence of metals, relative rarity of pottery,
and the almost complete calcification of human and animal remains
(which is by the way remarkable when compared with* similar finds
so far made in India from historic and proto-historic sites, and
Sub-Recent deposits in the Pot war loess) it is probable that the
Gujarat microlithic culture is of considerable antiquity.

Racially these human skeletons show Hamitic Negroid charac¬
teristics, and hence might have been of people akin to those in
North-East Africa and also proto-Egyptians. These folk lived on
small hillocks and drew their water supply from the hillock-girt in¬
undation lakes. They were primarily hunters and subsisted on such
game as the cow, buffalo, wild horse, ox, sheep, goat, rats, fish, and
crocodile. They must have used jungle fruits and other forest
products, but so far we have not found any remains of these in the
shape of stones, etc.

The crouching posture in which the skeletons have been found
leaves no doubt that they were deliberately buried, with a definite
idea of orientation. Out of seven skeletons four have their head
facing the west, and the remaining three, one of which is that of a
young woman, have their head facing the east. Large stones — peb¬
bles of quartzite and portions of querns of sandstones — had some¬
thing to do with the burial ceremony. For these are usually found
near the head of the skeletons. The dog also must have played an
important part in the life of these people, as so far two almost
complete skeletons have been found near the human remains, where¬
as the rest of the animal remains consist of isolated fragments only.

Whatever the age or ages to which the microliths in India be
ultimately assigned as a result of further research, the present
collections, particularly those made in Gujarat, can be typologically
classified in the following groups, each having several varieties or
sub-divisions:

(i) Rectangular "blades.

(ii) Crescent blades. These are. primarily one-edged, the back
side being made purposely blunt.

(iii) Scrapers. These are mostly thin, flat pieces with one side
more sloping than the rest and edged.

(vi) Points.

(v) Cores.

3. THE NEOLITHIC AGE

The neolithic cultural phase in India is so far indicated by
one of its main constituents, namely, stone tools. These, unlike

136

PALAEOLITHIC. NEOLITHIC AND COPPER AGES

those of the earlier cultures, bear unmistakable signs of polish, either
all over the tools, or at the butt-end and the working end, or only
at the working end. The material is also different. While the
palaeolithic man seems to have preferred fine-grained quartzite, the
mesolithic chalcedony, and other silicate varieties such as jasper,
chert, and bloodstone, the man of this age liked to fashion his tools
out of fine-grained dark-green trap, though there are examples of
diorite. basalt, slate, chlorite schist, indurated shale, gneiss, sand¬
stone, and quartzite.

How, when and by whom was this culture introduced, and the
earlier replaced, cannot be said for want of suitable data. Polished
stone implements have a very wide distribution. They have been
found in several districts of South India, but particularly Bellary,
Mysore and Hyderabad State, Central India, Central Provinces, Bun-
delkhand. Gujarat, Kashmir, West Bengal, Chota Nagpur and Orissa.
Like the microliths, these tools have also been found in funerary
monuments along with iron objects. So they seem to have gone
over well into Iron Age and early historic periods. . . ....

However, as in the case of microliths, excavations at two or
three sites in India have shown that these polished stone implements
or drilled hammer stones antedate the Iron Age. The first site is
Brahmagiri, mentioned above. Here the neoliths stratigraphically
lie below the early Iron Age and historical cultures, and above the
microliths.

At Langhnaj, again, a large pierced hammer stone of quartzite
with splayed hole from either side, and the front part of a polished
celt have been found.31 The celt has a broad rounded point
and smooth, polished, biconvex surfaces; the other end is broken.
The splayed holes and the absence of vertical drilling in stone tools,
particularly hammer stones, are regarded a characteristic of the
Neolithic Age in Europe, while the second implement recalls similar
implements of neolithic type from South India and Bengal. Typo-
logically these would be the only neolithic tools from Gujarat.
For the large majority, classified by Foote as neoliths, are really
microliths. And if other sites yield results similar to those obtained
so far from Langhnaj, then the Gujarat microlithic culture will
have to be assigned to a mesolithic period.

Excavating a megalithic monument at Burzahom in Kashmir
De Terra found neolithic celts below a chalcolithic (?) layer in
post-glacial loess associated with hard grey hand-made pottery
decorated with incised designs.32

The neolithic celts in India which have been so far illustrated33
may be classified into the following types:

(1) Triangular outline with rounded corners, slightly convex
working edge, the sides converging into a pointed but

137 • .

THE VEDIC AGE

round butt end (Coggin Brown, PI. V. 1, 9, 13, 15, 19) polished
all over on both sides (PI. VI. 1, 4, 8, 11, 14; VII. 2, 3, 4).

(2) Cylindrical or elongated oval, convex edge, sides converg¬
ing into a pointed butt end, biconvex sides, polished all
over on both sides (PI. V. 5, 8, 10; VI. 10, 3).

(3) Broad edge, with rounded corners, sides slightly tapering
but ending in a broad convex butt end, surfaces unpolished
(PI. V. 20).

(4) Oval and ovate, one end convex, the other pointed, polished
all over (PI. VII. 5).

(5) Chisel-like triangular, almost straight edged sides converg¬
ing into a rounded point (PI. VII. 1; IX. 6).

(6) Long, thin, slight convex edge, tapering sides, but broad
straight butt.

(7) Convex edge, slightly tapering sides.

(8) Thin and pointed, rounded sides, broad butt polished all
over (PI. IX. 12).

Hammer stones:

I. Hound without any hole.

II. Round or oval (PI. VI. 7) with a hole in the middle splayed
from both sides (PI. VI. 9; VII. 6).

The above gives a very rough and tentative idea of neolithic
tools in India. It needs to be improved by a scientific classifica¬
tion of the collections in the Indian Museum, Calcutta, and Govern¬
ment Museum, Madras, and in the museums at Mysore and Hydera¬
bad.

Much has been said about neolithic culture. According to some
scholars the people of this age understood the use of fire, made pot¬
tery, cultivated grain and domesticated animals. But as these
theories are based on surface finds alone, no definite conclusions are
possible until positive evidence is furnished by further excavations.
The same remark applies to the views of those who would refer
to this age the cinder-mounds, rude drawings in caves, as well as
the so-called cup-marks or “small hollowed depressions in the rocks, M
sometimes regarded as a system of writing.34 It is highly ques¬
tionable whether all these really belonged to the Neolithic Age. and
hence no detailed account has been given of them.

4. THE COPPER AND BRONZE AGE

When metals began to be used is very difficult to say in the ab¬
sence of stratigraphic sequence of cultures, and for want of unanimity
of opinion on the age of the Rigveda and later texts which refer to a
metal — ay as — interpreted either as copper or iron. Until the dis¬
covery of the Indus culture (which is treated in detail in Chapter
IX) the only evidence for the presumption of a Copper Age in India

138

PALAEOLITHIC, NEOLITHIC AND COPPER AGES

consisted of surface finds, mostly from the Ganges-Jumna Doab.
Recently some finds have been made at Kallur in the Hyderabad
State and a few copper and bronze weapons, tools, and vessels have
been found in dolmens and other sepulchral monuments from Nag¬
pur, Hyderabad, Madura and Mysore.

In spite of a few stray finds of copper or bronze weapons, tools,
and vessels from South India, it would appear that Copper or Bronze
Age cultures principally flourished in North India, in the great
alluvial plains, stretching from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Ben¬
gal. And it is traces of these that off and on turn up in the Ganges-
Jumna Doab, the Punjab, and Sind.3"’

The raw materials — copper— for the tools could be had, as has
been shown recently by Piggott, from the copper ore deposits in
Rajputana and Chota Nagpur, and Singhbhum in Bihar, and Orissa.
The finds from several hoards, the largest of which was from Gun-
geria, consist of tools, weapons and ornaments, such as axes, swords,
daggers, harpoons, and rings.

Excluding the solitary socketed axe*edge from the upper levels
of Mohenjo-daro, all the axes so far found are “variations of the
most primitive form of metal axe, called usually ‘the flat axe* or
‘blade axeV These have been grouped into five classes by Piggott36
according as they have parallel or tapering sides, straight or round-
ed butt, straight or convex cutting edge and are shouldered, elon¬
gated, etc.

All the swords found in the hoards from the Ganges ‘valley,
notably from Fatehgarh, near Farrukhabad, as well as at Kallur in
the Hyderabad State, are practically of one type. The hilt and
blade are cast in one mould. The blade is leaf-shaped, having a
slight but distinct mid-rib. The hilt has antennae.

So far there is a single example of a dagger from an unknown
locality. It is of the same type as the sword. The hilt and blade
are of one cast: the blade leaf-shaped and ribbed, the hilt has. a
common butt, with forth-jutting angle.

The harpoons provide a most interesting evolutionary series.
Two or three main types are distinguished.

fa) The most primitive form has a rough blade with bilateral
barbs, slight mid rib. a simple tang with one or more holes below
the lowest pair of barbs.

fb) More advanced form in which the blade becomes a sepa¬
rate element, the barbs are placed below it. but still resemble in
shape those of type a.

Besides these there are a few copper “riugs,” a couple of bent
tools, with a “celt-like’* flat and “human-figure-like’* objects, and
stylized lunate axe or lance-heads.37

139

THE VEDIC AGE

Whence and how did these copper or bronze weapons come to
the Ganges valley? A definite answer cannot be given but it is
suggested by Heine-Geldern3b that the prototypes of the simple celt-
like axes, as well as the various types of swords, daggers, and. har¬
poons can be traced back, through Iran, to the Caucasus and Danube
valley, where these tool types existed at least before 1200 B.C.
Hence he is of the opinion that in these stray copper or bronze ob¬
jects, we have traces of the migration route of the Vedic Aryans
Piggott is also inclined to the same opinion, though he would as¬
cribe the harpoons, a product of riverine culture, to a group of food¬
gathering tribes who, living primarily on fishing, acquired a know¬
ledge of metal working from some centre of higher culture and
transformed their characteristic hunting weapons accordingly.
How this culture-contact could have taken place has been shown
by Heine-Geldern, who thinks that the forepart of the most ad¬
vanced harpoons of the Ganges valley may have been influenced
by the javelin heads from Transcaucasia.

This culture is supposed to be posterior to that of the Indus
Valley because in the latter, besides the continuance of the use of
stone tools — the blades, etc., resembling larger microliths — the
copper tools and weapons are of the simplest type. The harpoons
and the sword are so far absent and the flat, broad-edged axe-head
is obviously a copy of the Palaeolithic U-shaped cleaver and the
Neolithic celt, a fact which can be demonstrated bv tvnological
studies, but not vet by stratigraphic sequence of cultures.

5. THE IRON AGE

The only evidence so far for assuming the transition from
Copper and Bronze or Stone Age culture to the iron Age has come
from megalithic monuments such as dolmens, cromlechs, cairns,
and menhirs. These have a very wide distribution in India.- ’ They
have been found almost all over South India, Karnatak, the Deccan,
Central India, Central Provinces, Orissa, Bihar, Assam. Raj pu tana.
Gujarat (very few), and Kashmir. Only a few have been syste¬
matically excavated. This is enough to show that these monuments
belong 'to different periods— -from the late pre-historic to historic
periods.

The Kashmir (Burzahom) megalith is assigned to a neolithic
period.40

The Ranchi monuments,4* some of which are credited to the*
Asuras by the present-day Mundas, yielded such a mixed assort¬
ment- of- finds as polished stone tools, carnelian beads, wheel-made
pottery, copper and bronze objects, copper and gold ornaments,
and* even iron slags, that it is impossible to date the monuments to
any one age*

The Rajputana monuments also yielded earthen vessels with

140

PALAEOLITHIC, NEOLITHIC AND COPPER AGES

lids, containing partially, burnt human bones, skeletons in flexed
position, microlith-like flakes, etc.

Monuments south of the Vindhyas, those in the Hyderabad42
and Mysore States,43 and in the rest of South India,44 particularly
the monuments examined by Rea at Adittanallur, in the Tamra-
parni valley (Tinnevelly district), at Perumbair (Chingleput dis¬
trict), at Kaniyampundi (Coimbatore district) and Perungulam
(Malabar), have also produced evidence of a varied stage of cultural
development, which must not have been uniform even in penin¬
sular India. Along with beautiful thin-walled red and black pottery
of different types, and huge thick-walled ones, are often found
microlithic flakes of agate, or crystal, carnelian beads, neolithic
celts, and tools and weapons of iron and, at times, of copper or
bronze.

If it is difficult in our present limited knowledge, to trace the
transition from the Stone or Copper Age to the Iron Age through
these megalithic monuments, it is no less difficult to understand the
purpose and types of these monuments themselves. Most of these
are funerary, connected with the disposal of the dead. But it has
also been shown that megalithic monuments in Assam were con¬
nected with fertility rites and ancestor worship.4'5 Different motives
have thus contributed to the raising of. these megalithic monuments,
To unravel these and weave a cultural pattern out of the separate
threads is the great task of Indian archaeology. But unless the
monuments are studied scientifically no conclusions as to their true
nature, age, and origin43 can be formulated.47

1. Das Gupta, H. C., Bibliography of Prehistoric Indian Antiquities , 1931.

2. See De Terra, H., and Paterson T.T., Studies on the Ice Age in India and the
Associnled Human Cultures, 1939. pp. 301-10.

3. Ibid., PI. XXXI.. A and PI. XXXIII.

4. But the reason De Terra and Paterson assign (op.cit., p. 275) viz. “The windr
borne nature of the silt, and its high percentage of lime,” which is supposed
to be unfavourable to the preservation of bones, does not seem to be correct.
For in almost exactly similar soil, a fairly fossilized human skeleton and
animal remains have been recently found in Gujarat. Cf. NIA, April 1944, and
Preliminary Report of the Third. Gujarat Expedition, Poona, 1945.

5. De Terra and Paterson, op.cit., PI. XXXIX-XLII.

G. Ibid., PI. XLII.

7. Ibid., PI. XUII.

8. Brown, J. Coggin, Catalogue of Prehistoric Antiquities in the Indian Museum
at Calcutta, 1917.

9. Sankalia, H.D., Investigations into Prehistoric Archaeology at Gujarat, Pratap-
simha Maharaja R.ajyabhisheka Granthamala, Memoir No. IV, Baroda, 1946.

10. Ibid.. PI. XII.

11. De Terra, op. cit.. p. 314. Full details of every layer are not given:

12. Brown, op.cit.

13. Ibid., and Foote. Notes on Ages and Distribution. 1916.

14. According to the brief summary given by Chattopadhyay, K.P., in JRASB(L).
X.. pp. 97-8.

15. BDCRI. IV. 1-16.

16. JRAI. LXIX. pp. 257-72, PI. XTV.

17. For this and the succeeding paragraphs see Foote, Notes on Ages and Distri¬
bution, 1916.

18. Cammiade and Burkitt, Antiquity , 1930, pp. 327-39.

THE VEDIC AGE

19. Krishnaswami, V. D., Prehistoric Man Around Madras (Indian Academy of
Sciences, Madras, 1938).

20. De Terra and Paterson, op.cit., pp. 327-33.

21. See Aiyappan. Manley Collection of Stone Age Tools, MASI, No. 68 (1942).

22. For a provisional correlation of the Lower Palaeolithic Cultures all over th^
world, see Paterson. “Qeology and Early Man,” Nature. 1940, pp. 12, 49, 51.

23. Foote, op.cit.

24. Gordon, JRASBL. VII, p. 129.

25. De Terra, op.cit .. p. 277.

26. Krishna, M.H., Mysore Archaeological Survey Reports. 1942, pp. 100-9.

27. Hunter, Nagpur University Journal. No. 1, p. 31 and No. 2, p. 127.

28. De Terra, op.cit ., pp. 277-8.

29. Gordon, Art and Letters. 3936, pp. 35-41.

30. Sankalia, op.cit.. pp. 64-100, and Sankalia and Karve, NIA, VII, 1-6, and
Preliminary Report of the Third Gujarat Prehistoric Expedition , Poona, 1945.

31. Sankalia and Karve, Report of the Third Gujarat Prehistoric Expedition, Poona,
1945.

32. De Terra and Paterson, op.cit ., pp. 233-4 and Pi. XXIV.

33. The two main 'works are Brown's Catalogue, and Foote’s Notes on Ages, etc.,
and Catalogue Raisonne. and Catalogue Madras Museum; sec also Das Gupta,
Bibliography, which deals with finds made up to 1930-31. For later notices see
annual Reports of the Mvsore and Hyderabad Archaeological Deportments.

34. Cf. CHI. I, 613-4.

35. These notices, were first collected and commented by Smith in I A, XXXIV,
229 ff. and XXXVI 53 ff.; Brown used these in his Catalogue (1917); brought
up to date by Das Gupta, Bibliography (1931); reclassified by G. N. Mukherjee
in IHQ, Vol. XI. p. 522; and some items commented by Heine-Geldern (JISOA.
IV, 87-115) and Piggott (“Prehistoric Copper Hoards in the Ganges Basin,”
Antiquity , 72, December, 1944;.

36. Piggott, op.cit.

37. Smith, op.cit.; POC. IV, 1928, pp. 729-34.

38. Heine-Geldern, op.cit.

39. Das Gupta, op.cit., for notices up to 1930-31. Later notices arc mostly in the
Reports of the Mysore (1932 and 1940, 1941. 1942, 1943) and Hyderabad Archaeo¬
logical Departments (1937-40), ASI. and BDCRI.

40. De Terra, op.cit., pp. 233-4. PI. XXIV; and Kak. Ram Chandra, Ancient Monu¬
ments of Kashmir, p. Ill, PI. XLIII; cf. also The Progress of Science in India
during the Past Tiuenty-Five Years. 1938, pp. 309-33.

41. Roy, S.C., JBORS. I, 229-53, II, 61-77.

42. Hunt. JRAI. LIV, p. 140 ff.

43. Mysore Arch. Rep., op.cit. (See note 35 above).

44. Rea, ASI. 1902-‘03; 1904-05. p. 41; 1908-09, p. 92; ASI Southern Circle, 1910-11,
p. 12. 1913-14. p, 43 and 1914-15. p. 39. Catalogue of Prehistoric Antiquities
from Adichanallur and Pcrumbair. 1915. and Richards. JRAI, LIV. p. 157 ff.

45. Hutton, JRAI. UI, 55 ff. and 242 ff. and LVI. 71.

46. For a tentative classification of ra^galithic — mostly funerary — monuments,
known up to 1923. see Ghurye, MIA,- VI. 26-57: 100-39; Aiyappan’s recent
summary in Proceedings of the Science Congress. 1945, Presidential Addresses,
is useful.

47. The writer is indebted to Rao Bahadur K. N. Dikshit, the Director General of
Archaeology in India for having gone through the chapter and making a number
of suggestions.

142

CHAPTER VIII

RACE MOVEMENTS AND PREHISTORIC

CULTURE

It is strange (and somewhat difficult of explanation) that skeletal
remains of Early Man in India, particularly in the prehistoric and
early historical times, should be so scanty. This lack of material
has. not allowed us to postulate with certainty about racial move¬
ments in ancient times, and any appraisement or reconstruction of
movements of peoples in India, some four or three or even two
thousand years ago, is bound to remain largely hypothetical, and
based on or inferred from the present-day situation only. Race is
not, of course, synonymous with language; but when a language
was becoming characterized as a distinct type in a particular area
and among a particular people in prehistoric times, it formed an
important cultural expression of that people, and as such a con¬
nexion between the two is justified, always bearing in mind the
great fact that language is after all but a secondary expression of
culture and that it is largely transmissible from people to people.

Racial anthropology, dealing with the physical features of a
people, has sought to analyse the various elements which have
contributed to build up the population of India, irrespecti^ ot what
cultural ethnology has to say about languages and cultures. Various
views were advanced by diverse anthropologists about the racial
elements in the population of India. Until recently, the view that
occupied a position of prestige as a sort of official pronouncement
on behalf of the Government of India was that put forward by the
late Sir Herbert Risley.1

This view, adopted in official publications and accepted very
largely both in India and outside India without any questioning,
divided the people of India, quite arbitrarily, with both inefficient
data and immature science (not wholly free, it might als<f*be sus¬
pected. from political bias), into seven broad groups, labelled as
Mongoloid. Indo-Aryan. Dravidian, Mongolo-Dra vidian,. Aryo-Dravi-
dian, Scytho-Dra vidian, and Turko-Iranian. An Indian anthropologist
like the late Rama Prasad Chanda made a more systematized essay
based on both anthropometric data and early tradition as preserved
in ancient Indian literature towards a determination of the various
racial elements in India.2

The next advance in this direction was made in 1933 by Dr. J. H.
Hutton3 when a statement as to the race-cum-language-and-culturc
sequence in India was proposed which took note of the advance
made in anthropology and ethnology since 1900. According to this

143

THE VEDIC AGE

view, we have the advent of the following peoples in India from
the outside (no kind of man originated on the soil of India, all her
human inhabitants having arrived originally from other lands, but
developing within India some of their salient characteristics and
then passing on outside India), their names being given in an ap¬
proximate order of their arrival:

(1) Negritos, brachy cephalic Negroids from Africa, the oldest
people to have come to India, now surviving in the Andaman Islands
(where they have retained their language) and in Malaya; and
traces of them seem to occur among the Nagas in Assam and among
certain tribes in South India.

(2) “Proto-Australoids/* black, dolichocephalic, platyrrhine,
apparently an early offshoot of the Mediterranean race, who came
from the east Mediterranean area (Palestine). The Melanesians
appear to be in their racial basis of this early Mediterranean Proto-
Australoid origin, with modifications from other races both inside
and outside India.

♦

(3) Early Mediterraneans, v leptorrhine dolichocephals, who
brought earlier forms of the Austric speech.

(4) Civilized or Advanced Mediterranean, leptorrhine doli¬
chocephals, who became the “Dravidians” in India.

(5) Armenoids — ‘a specialized off -shoot from the standard
Alpine stock” — brachycephalic — probably came with the Civilized
Mediterraneans (“Dravidians”) and spoke their language.

(6) Alpines — brachycephalic, leptorrhine: found in Gujarat
and Bengal; earlier than Vedic Aryans, but probably speaking Aryan
dialects.

(7) Vedic Aryans, or Nordics, leptorrhine dolichocephals who
brought the Vedic Aryan (Sanskrit) speech.

(8) Mongoloids, brachycephals: not important for the greater
part of India, as they touched only the northern and eastern fringes.

Finally, the most recent and authoritative view has been put
forward by Dr. B. S. Guha, Director of the Anthropological Survey
of India.4 In his newest work,5 giving ^ useful resume of the whole
question, Dr. Guha has signalized “six main races with nine sub¬
types,” as follows:

1. The Negrito.

2 . The Proto-Australoid.

3. The Mongoloid, consisting of:

(i) Palaeo-Mongoloids of (a) long-headed and

(b) broad-headed types.

(ii) Tibeto-Mongoloids.

4. The Mediterranean, comprising:

(i) Palaeo-Mediterranean,

144

RACE MOVEMENTS AND PREHISTORIC CULTURE

(ii) Mediterx*anean, and

(iii) the so-called Oriental type.

5. The Western Brachycephals, consisting of:

(i) The Alpinoid,

(ii) The Dinaric, and

(iii) The Armenoid.

6. The Nordic.

Of the above races, (1) the Negrito is all but extinct on the soil
of India. A small group of Negritos is still surviving in the Anda¬
mans, and traces of the Negrito race have been found among the
Kadars and Palayans of Cochin and the Travancore Hills, the Irulas
of the Wynad, the Angami Nagas of Assam and some of the Raj-
mahal Hill tribes in Eastern Bihar. The Negritos appear to have
been suppressed and absorbed by other races which followed them,
particularly the Proto-Australoids (2).

(2) The Proto-Australoids appear to have come from the West,
and have become characterized in India. They survive in a good
many aboriginal peoples of present-day India, although more or
less mingled with other peoples. A branch of the Proto-Australoids
passed on to Australia in very ancient times, and the “Austronesian”
peoples (Indonesians, Melanesians and Polynesians) have a good
deal of the Proto-Australoid clement in them. Throughout the
greater part of India the Proto-Australoid peoples still live as the
lower castes or sections of the Indian people.

(3) Of the various (3) Mongoloid groups, (1) the Palaeo-Mongo-
loids, sub-divided into two types, (i) (a) with a peculiar head-form re¬
sembling dolichocephal. occurring “as the more ancient stratum of the
population” and forming “a dominant element in the tribes living
in Assam and the Indo-Burmese frontiers” and (i)(b) with round
heads, found among the less primitive tribes in Burma and in the
Chittagong Hills, appear to represent a less developed group of
this race. The (ii) Tibeto-Mongoloids are a more pronounced and
advanced Mongoloid type, and they are found in Sikkim and Bhu¬
tan, and “must have infiltrated from Tibet in comparatively later
times.”

(4) The Mediterranean peoples also represent several strains
or types, all long-headed. We have in the first instance (i) the
Palaeo-Mediterranean type, medium-statured dark-skinned and of
slight build: this is found largely in the Kannada, Tamil and Mala-
ynlam tracts, (ii) The true Mediterranean or European type, taller
and fairer than the Palaeo-Mediterraneans. occurs in the Punjab
and Upper Gangetic Valley, and is supposed to represent the civi¬
lized pre-Aryan “Dravidian” people of Northern India which be¬
came Arvanized in language and contributed largely to the evolu¬
tion of the Hindu people and culture of North India, (iii) The

145

THE VEDIC AGE

third Mediterranean strain, the so-called ‘'Oriental*' one, commonly
miscalled the bemiuc or Jewish, with a pronouncedly iongish nose
and lair in skin, is found in the Punjab, in Bind, in Rajputana anu
in Western U.P., and it occurs also not unusually enough in other
parts of' India.

The various (5) Bruchycephal groups really form sub-groups
of one single physical type, and they appear tor at least their pro¬
totype appears) to have evolved in the Central Asian mountain
regions. Brachycephalic peoples, both Alpine and Dinar ic, appear
to have spread over the greater part ot India, the Dinaric type
being well-marked in Bengal and Orissa, in Kathiawar, and in the
Kannada and Tamil countries; and in Coorg it occurs in its purest
form, in Gujarat the Alpinoid brachycephals show a greater pre¬
dominance. Broad-head elements are found along the West Coast
of India, excepting in Malabar; they are not found in the Telugu
country. Early brachycephalic groups also established themselves
in or passed through the Ganges Valley, as far as the delta, leaving
traces or drifts in Central India, Eastern U.P. and ’Bihar; another
line of migration is found along the Himalayas, from Chitral and
Gilgit to Western Nepal. The Parsis of Bombay are a lately arrived
brachycephalic group allied to the Armenoids — they present a con¬
trast to the long-headed Iranian Zoroastrians tGabrs or Guebres)
still living in Persia.

Finally, we have the (6) Nordic Aryan-speaking group of India,,
who gave to India its Aryan speech, and by their organization,
imagination and adaptability helped to bring about a great cultural
synthesis leading to the foundation of the Hindu civilization of
India. These Nordics seem to have been characterised in the Eura¬
sian steppe lands and they entered India some time during the
second half of the second millennium B.C.^ Nordic elements are
strong in parts of the North-West Frontier of India, particularly along
the upper reaches of the Indus and along its tributaries the Swat, the
Panjkora, the Kunar and the Chitral rivers, and in the south of the
Hindu Kush range. In the Punjab and Rajputana and in the Upper
Ganges Valley Nordic elements are present (although more and more
mixed with other racial elements as we proceed further to the
east), particularly among the higher castes or groups; among cer¬
tain sections elsewhere in India, the Nordic type predominates,
e.g. among the Chitpavan Brahmans of the Maratha country. The
original Nordic type is supposed to have been tall, fair-skinned,
yellow or golden-haired and blue-eyed: such a type seems (from
such meagre literary evidence as is available) to have characterized
the true Aryans of ancient times, but owing to miscegenation and
to climatic conditions the complexion of the body and the colour
of the hair and the eye have been modified or eliminated by natural
selection to light brown or brown and to black tfor the hair and

146

RACE MOVEMENTS AND PREHISTORIC CULTURE

the eyes), although light-eyed people are not uncommon among
the iNordic iung-neads in India, scattered as they are .an over me
country.

Dr. B. S. Guha has thus summed up the racial distribution lor
India as a whole: “It must be clearly understood tnat no rigid sepa¬
ration is possible as there is considerable overlapping oi types.
From a broad point of view, howTever, a Nordic territory in north¬
western India, mixed with Mediterraneans and Orientals, can be
distinguished from a territory in Peninsular India containing the
older Palaeo-Mediterranean element. On both sides of tms are
the domains of the Alpo-Dinarics, mixed no doubt with other types.
The primitive darker elements have come in everywhere and, with
blood from other strains, chiefly Palaeo-Mediterranean, they con¬
stitute the lower stratum of the population. The Mongoloids
occupy the submontane regions of the north and the east, but
various thrusts from them have gone deeply into the 'composition of
the people.”7

It has not yet been established that a particular racial type,
by the mere fact of some pronounced or subdued racial characteris¬
tic which it possesses, must necessarily or inevitably have its men¬
tal and emotional outlook or attitude pre-decided. In other words,
it cannot be asserted that there must be an ineradicable racial cha¬
racter. But on the other hand the economic milieu , and the special
training which the mind and the emotions receive in an organized
or corporate body of men, create a framework of civilization or
ordered life which commonly finds an expression in the language
of that body of men: and hence we are more justified in speaking of
language cultures than of racial cultures; and we must also consider
that from the beginning of recorded history racial inter-mixture
has proceeded apace, leading to a profound modification of any
special race-type in its most ancient and pristine form. The six
different main types of humanity, with their various ramifications,
as discussed above, which have gone to make the people of India,
are now included within one or the other of four distinct speech-
families: viz., the Austric (Kol or Munda), the Tibeto-Chinese or'
Sino-Tibetan, the Dra vidian, and the Indo-European (Aryan).
Even in some cases the economic milieu transcends the diversity
of language and language-culture, and tones down very largely,
within a given economic area, the more aggressively prominent or
more easily noticeable special cultural traits that go with language
— religion, social usage, customs, etc. Thus in Chota Nagpur, in
spite of diversity of language the Dravidian-speaking Oraons and
the Austric i Kol) -speaking Mun<Jas are within the fold of a common
culture; and in Central Europe, the Indo-European-speaking Ger¬
mans and Slavs, in spite of their pronounced linguistic diversity
although within the same family, and the entirely distinct Finno*

147

THE VEDIC AGE

Ugrian-speaking Magyars, share a common type of economic and
cultural life. The same observation can be made about the Indo-
European-speaking Armenians and Ossetes, the Ural-Altaic-speaking
Azarbijanis and the Caucasic Georgians and others in the Caucasus
regions.

So, too, for India as a whole, a more or less common type of
economic life based on agriculture and taking shape within the
limits of India forming a single geographical unit, combined with
a large-scale commingling of different races building up a common
history, has been responsible for the gradual modification of what
doubtless existed in most ancient times as distinct racial types and
distinctive language-cultures, and has led to the evolution, as a
result of a more or less conscious movement, of a common Indian
type and a common Indian culture. In this culture of India, after
at least two and a half millennia of close interaction, the original
genetic differences in the four language-families obtaining in
India from prehistoric times have largely converged towards the
evolution of a number of common traits.

It will not be possible at the present moment to make a definite
pronouncement about the mental and spiritual environment of the
various types of man in their primitive stage when they came
into India, although, through a close study of the question, taking
all help from anthropology, religiology, linguistics, sociology, pre¬
historic archaeology, and other human sciences we may make some
near enough guesses about their material culture and the contribu¬
tions they made to the common store-house of Indian life and
Indian civilization, both in the material and the mental and
emotional sides. In this way we can bring to light the basis on
which Indian civilization rests in all its aspects, material,
mental, and spiritual, and its genesis will enable us properly
to appreciate and understand its subsequent evolution and trans¬
formation.

We have to begin with the Negroid or Negrito people of pre¬
historic India, who were its first human inhabitants. At the present
day the Negritos have practically vanished from the soil of India.
Originally they would appear to have come from Africa through
Arabia and the coast-lands of Iran and Baluchistan. They were
in the eolithic stage of culture, and they appear to have been food-
gatherers rather than food-producers. In India, the Negritos would
appear to have been either killed off by the later immigrants, more
advanced than themselves, notably the Proto- Australoids, or ab¬
sorbed by them. They survive in a few primitive tribes in South
Tndia, and traces of the Negrito have been found in the Nagas of
Assam. Beyond India, they passed on to Malaya, where Negrito
tribes still survive, and even further into the distant islands of
Indonesia, like the Philippines, and into New Guinea. Within the

148

RACE MOVEMENTS AND PREHISTORIC CULTURE

Indian domain^ they are found in a few hundred Andamanese in
the Andaman Islands, where they have still kept up their own
language. Their settlement in the Andamans shows a certain ad¬
vance in culture, as they must have crossed the sea in their small
dugoutsf which testifies to their skill as well as courage and imagi¬
nation; and they came to be acquainted with the bow and arrow,
and the blow-pipe, probably from the Proto-Australoids, unless they
invented these themselves. Except in the case of the Andamanese,
the Negritos who survive in India and Further India (including
Malaya) at the present day speak everywhere debased dialects of
their more civilized neighbours. The original Negrito speech of
India, whatever it was, seemingly survives in Andamanese, which
as a language or dialect group stands isolated. Owing to their very
primitive state, the Negritos do not appear .to have contributed any¬
thing of importance to the civilization of India.

Negrito elements dr traits, judging from some racial types de¬
picted in the art of Gupta and post-Gupta India (as in Gupta sculp¬
ture and in the Ajaota frescoes), seem to have survived to a very
late period; but now they have been almost wholly eliminated. It
has been suggested8 that the cult of the ficus, tree, associated with
fertility and with the souls of the dead, and some ideas about the
Path of the Dead to Paradise guarded by an avenging demon, which
are widespread in Southern Europe, Africa, and Oceania, and partly
also India, might well have come from the Negrito people.

Situated as they were, the Negritos were not in a position to
influence the languages which came to India subsequently. At
least two other linguistic strata covered up Negrito speech — the Aus-
tric and the Dra vidian, before the Aryan language arrived, so nothing
from Negrito speech had much chance of coming into Aryan. But
it may be that here and there a word indicative of some object,
some element from the flora or the fauna of India, has survived,
although in a much altered form, being passed on from the Negrito
language through the Proto-Australoid or Dravidian dialects to
Indo-Aryan. One such word may be the Bengali and Oriya badud,
badadi = “ bat”: the basic element would seem to be *bad, which
was extended by the addition of the pleonastic affix — ada — plus the
feminize and diminutive affix-i from Old Indo-Aryan ika; and with
this *bad, otherwise unexplained, may be compared Andamanese
wot-day xoat-da , wot , tudt=“bat” and the element pet, wet9 met , wedf
wdt, in some of the aboriginal languages of Malaya and Indo-China
belonging to the Austro- Asiatic branch of the Austric family (some
of which are spoken by the Negrito tribes of Malaya); e.g. tra-pet ,
sa-pet7 ham-pet, sa-met, lnamet , lea-wet , ka-wed> gan-at kat
< *ka-wat, kawa < *ka-wat, udt.

The Pro to- Australoids, who appear to have come after the
Negritos, and that, too, from the West, have furnished one of the

, 149

V.A.— 10

THE VEDIC AGE

basic elements in the population of India. There were, as it would
appear, numerous lines of migration of this race from the west
and east through India, and the Proto-Australoid type was modified
both within and beyond by admixture with other peoples, notably
the Negritos and the Mongoloids; and as a result, we have, it would
seem, the Kol or Mupsia type in India, the Mon-Khmer type in
Assam, Burma, and Indo-China, the Nicobarese in the Nicobar
Islands, and the Indonesian Melanesian, and Polynesian types in the
islands of the Indian Archipelago and those of Melanesia and Poly¬
nesia. All these congeries of mixed peoples extending from the
extreme north-west of India, throughout the whoie ox India, Burma,
Indo-China and Malay Peninsula into the islands oi the Indian
Archipelago (Indonesia} and those of Melanesia, Micronesia, and
Polynesia — in a word, from Kashmir to Easter Island — have a Proto-
Australoid element; and the languages they speak nave been found
to possess common traits which warrant their inclusion within a
single speech family. The researches of Pater W. Schmidt have
established the Austric Family of Languages, which is found to have
two main ramifications— Hi} the Austronesian, under which come the
closely agreeing Indonesian, Melanesian, Micronesian, and Poly¬
nesian languages, and (ii} the Austro-Asiatic, which embraces the
Kol or Mu$da speeches of India, Nicobarese, and the Mon-Khmer
speeches of India (Assam), Burma, and Indo-China.

As things stand, the original Austric speech, which took different
forms under diverse conditions within this vast area over which it
spread, would appear to have been brought from the west by the
Proto-Australoids; and in its original form (as the ultimate source
of both the Austro-Asiatic and Austronesian branches) it could very
well have been characterized within India. Outside India, the
Pro to- Australoids passed on to Australia, where their language and
culture took a definite form which was quite isolated and distinct
from that of the Austro-Asiatic and Austronesian peoples.

After the Melanesian and Polynesian types in ethnology and
language came to be established, it would appear that there were
back-washes of immigrations of Melanesians and Polynesians into
India, which brought in certain new cultural contributions from
these peoples; and these Melanesian and Polynesian immigrants
would appear to have now become totally assimilated into the mass
of the Indian population. From the Melanesians, the custom of
disposal of the dead by exposure, communal houses, head-hunting
and a canoe cult appear to have been introduced into India. The
introduction of the outrigger canoe and of the coconut into India
may have been due to the Polynesians.

The Proto-Australoid’s contribution to the primitive culture of
India, it has been thought, included the following matters: pottery,
which would appear to have been unknown to the Negritos; nec-

150

RACE MOVEMENTS AND PREHISTORIC CULTURE

lithic development of the palaeolithic culture of the country; the
use of the boomerang and of th& blowing-gun; and ideas of totemism
in religion. Hoe and digging-stick cultivation, followed at least in
some parts of the country by terrace cultivation of rice, may have ori¬
ginated on the soil of India in the hands of the Proto-Australoids;
and this would appear co have been advanced largely in the extra-
Indian lands of south-eastern Asia.

The bases of Pro to- Australoid culture — assuming that the
language of the Proto- Australoids was the primitive source-speech
from which the current Austro-Asiatic and Austronesian languages
have descended — can to a certain extent (apart from some prehisto¬
ric implements and artifacts9 which can be ascribed to the Proto-
Australoids) be reconstructed through linguistic palaeontology,
along lines which have proved to be so successful in the case of the
primitive Indo-European cultural milieu. Renward Brandstetter
has, in his brilliant papers on Indonesian, essayed to reconstruct
not only the primitive Indonesian speech (which comes within the
Austronesian branch of Austric) but also the natural and mental

background of the speakers of Primitive Indonesian.10 For Austric

(if not for Austric as a whole, at least for the Austric speech world
of India) a new line of investigation has been started by Jean Przy-
luski, with full approval and support of Sylvain Levi, Jules Bloch,
and others.11

In studying certain non-Aryan elements in the Indo-Aryan
speech in its different periods — non-Aryan elements which are not
Dravidian — Przyluski found out that these belonged to the Austro-
Asiatic speeches as they were current in India. At the present day,
Austro-Asiatic dialects belonging to the Kol or Muntfa group only
are spoken on the soil of India, and only one speech of the Mon-Khmer
group is current in Assam, viz. Khasi, while other Mon-Khmer spee¬
ches are found in Burma and Indo-China. But from a study of the
Austric words found in Indo-Aryan it would appear that dialects
allied to both Kol and Mon-Khmer were current in India during
the oldest period of contact between Indo-Aryan and Austric, and
possibly also speeches more closely connected with Austronesian
(Indonesian specially) within the. Austric family. However, from
these non- Ary an (and non-Dra vidian) loans which are from Austric,
we can make some guesses as to the nature of the culture-world
which the Austric-speaking or Proto-Australoid peoples presented
vis-a-vis the Aryan-speaking invaders from the West.

The words from Austric borrowed by Indo-Aryan refer in the
first instance to items in the special flora and fauna of India not
known to the Aryan-speakers; naturally enough, then, they also
refer to culture plants known to the Austric-speakers, and to some
of their culture objects and ideas. Thus, the Aryans came into Iran
(and possibly also into India) with a knowledge of barley and

151

THE VEDiC AGE

wheat among cereals: their word for “barley,” yavu in Sanskrit, is
of Indo- European origin (= Greek z*a9 1-E; * yewa -), and that for
“wheat’1 (Sanskrit goatiuma , Persian gandum < Iranian • gandhuma)
is of unknown origin. For “rice,” the oldest word in Indo-Aryan
is vrihi, which has Iranian affinities (e.g. Persian birinj, gurinj, Old
Iranian *vd rna]a, Pafto wrize, whence Greek oruza, briza) and which
may be connected with the Dra vidian (Tamil) arichi <*arkif argi.
But in the New Indo-Aryan languages the common word for “rice”
is chawal, chawal , chaul , and this would appear to be based on a
Middle Indo-Aryan chdmala (cf. the Old and Middle Indo-Aryan
forms chama, d^chama) meaning “rice” as well as “food,” and this
cMma-la, in its original sense of “food,” might be very well con¬
nected with Kol or Murcia root jom, “to eat.”12

Certain common fruits and vegetables may similarly be pre¬
sumed to have been cultivated by the Austric speakers, as their
Sanskrit and other Aryan names are of Austric origin: the banana
(Sanskrit kadali, kandali ), coconut ( narikela ), betel (tambula), tile
brinjal or egg-plant (v&tingana) , the pumpkin ( aldbu ), the lime
( nimbuka ), the rose-apple ( jambu ), etc., and also cotton ( karpdsa ,
karpata ) and silk-cotton ( sdlmali } simbali ). The domestic fowl
( krikavdka , *kurku\a > kukkuta ), the peacock (mrok as an ex¬
pletive in the Atharva-Veda, compare Kol marak' “peacock,” beside
Dravidian mayil as in Tamil), the elephant ( mdtangaf gaja), and
some breed of horse or pony (*sada, as in Sanskrit s^din — “rider”)
appear to have been known to the pre-Aryan peoples of India speak¬
ing Austric. The Austric speakers supplied to Indo-Aryan its
common word for “arrow” (baua), and for “stick” and “phallus” or
“the phallus symbol,” both from a word meaning originally
“stick,” and then “digging-stick for ploughing” ( lakuta , laguda ,
linga ; laiida in N1A — -Bihari), and these show two noteworthy
aspects of the cultural life of the Austric speakers which had their
repercussion on that of the Aryan speakers.13

Some of the fundamental bases of Indian civilization on the
material side would thus appear to be the gifts of the Austric-
speaking Proto-Australoid people: the cultivation of rice, the raising
of some important vegetables, the manufacture of sugar from the
cane, and the use of the betel vine in life and in ritual; the habit
of counting on the basis of twenty (Bengali kudi, Hindi ko^t), and
probably also the use of turmeric and vermilion in religious ritual
and social life (e.g. in marriage), combined with some notions of
future life (survival of the soul after death, and the germs of the
idea of transmigration) . and some mythological and religious as well
as romantic notions and stories appear to have come from the same
source. Weaving of cotton cloth was also an Austric or Proto-
Australoid invention; and probably the Pro to- Australoids were the
first people to domesticate and train the elephant.

152

RACE MOVEMENTS AND PREHISTORIC CULTURE

Certain magico-religious rituals, e.g. the removal of the evil
eye by the rite known in Northern India as nichhawar or baranf
which have a strong place in Hindu society, would seem to be of
Austric origin. The idea of taboo would seem to be another trait
derived from the mentality of the Proto-Australoids (or Austric
speakers) in prehistoric times, when Arya and Nishada — the Aryan
and the dark-skinned Austric dwellers in the forests— first met in
the Punjab: Sylvain Levi has drawn our attention to the fact that
the Atharva-Veda word tabuva was connected with the Polynesian
word tapu or tabu by A. Weber in 1876 and by Barth later on; and
it is likely that the word passed on with the Proto-Australoid immi¬
grants into Austronesia, the distant Polynesian islands, while in India
it was borrowed in the Atharvaveda. Cosmic and creational myths
and ideas as they had originated among the pre-Aryan Austric-speak-
ing peoples of India were adopted into the cosmopolitan or compo¬
site Aryan-non-Aryan or Hindu religion and legend, while these made
their steady way into the oceanic regions of the Pacific through the
islands of Indonesia with the expanding Proto-Australoids. Cer¬
tain remarkable agreements between the cosmogony of the Poly¬
nesians and that of the Nascidiya hymn of the Rigveda (X. 129) have
to be taken note of in this connexion. The enumeration of the
days by the phases of the moon — the tithis — which was early
adopted by the Hindu people probably simultaneously with its
formation and has still been retained in the sacred or religious
(ritualistic) calendar of the Hindus, is again an Austric custom
which survived in. Polynesia; even the old Austric names for two
of the phases of the moon, which are still found in the Polynesian
group of Austronesian, were adopted in India by Sanskrit (rdka— “full
moon/* and kuh?i ~ “new moon”).14 It has also been suggested
that the Sanskrit name of at least one constellation is of Austric
origin, viz. mn tyfkd— “the Pleiades.” the present-day Polynesian
form of which is' matariki.

The culture-world of India has thus among its niaterial and
other ideological bases some fundamental things derived from the
Austric speakers, assuming that they were also, in their pure state,
Proto-Australoid in race, which became fully characterized on the
roil of India. That would be only natural, as this racial element
forms one of the most important in the present-day Indian people,
as anthropologists tell us, the masses or the lower classes through¬
out the greater part of India being largely of this stock. The bed¬
rock of Indian civilization is agriculture, and that, in all. likelihood
in connexion with the cultivation of rice, goes back to the Austric
Proto- Australoids of India. The germs of the idea of transmigra¬
tion which has been so potent a force in Indian thought, religion
and life, would probably go back to this source: also some of the
fundamental cults and rituals.

153

THE VEDIC AGE

In the domain of myth and legend, a number of Austric notions
and tales appear to have survived in the myths of the Purapas and
of the popular Hinduism. The legends of the creation of the world
from an egg or eggs, of the Avattiras or incarnations of Vishnu, e.g.
that of the tortoise incarnation, of the princess smelling of fish
( matsya-gandha ), of the Nagas as serpent spirits of the waters and
the underworld, and many more, which do not form part of the
Aryan or Indo-European inheritance in Hinduism, and do not seem
to have come from the Dravidian world either, can reasonably be
expected to have been derived from the Austric or Proto- Australoid
world.

All these have been more or less distorted or transformed in the
Sanskrit Puranas, in the traditions surviving among the Austric-
speaking tribes of the present day, or in popular Hindu folklore of
today. The use of a rude block of stone as a symbol of the divinity
is also Austric — it may also have been Dravidian in addition. Some
fairy or folk tales would also go back to the same source. Zoomor-
phic deities. appear also to be survivals from Austric or Proto- Aus¬
traloid totemism which also was reinforced by the Dravidian cults
possessing a similar character (e.g. the Nagas or snake deities, the
tortoise, the makara or crocodile, the monkey god, Gane£a with his
elephant’s head, etc.).

It would be too much to try to appraise the stamp of the original
Proto-Australoid character upon that of our masses of the present
day, but from the character of the present-day Kol or Mupda peoples
of Eastern India, and of the peoples like the Oraons whose cultural
milieu is that of the Kols although they are Dra vidian-speakers,
we may be allowed to formulate this Austric inheritance. The
Austric temperament was pre-eminently gregarious; it was super¬
stitious and to some extent timid, though not cowardly in face of
dangers it could understand. Cheerfulness and love of simple music
and gaiety came naturally to the Austric temper even in the midst
of hard labour: and it was not over-sensitive to physical discomfort.
There was a touch of erotic abandon in it, but along with that there
was a great respect for convention which put the rein on licence.
As a sympathetic student of the aborigines of Chota Nagpur W. G.
Archer, has said of the Oraons, who live within the same economic
and cultural atmosphere as the Mundas, Santals, Hos, and other
agricultural Kol tribes: “A few notes should be added on Ora on
‘character.’ To the earliest observers a capacity for cheerful hard
work was the most notable character of Oraons; and a sturdy gaiety,
an exultation in bodily physique and a sense of fun are still their
most obvious qualities. These are linked to a fundamental simpli¬
city — a tendency to see an emotion as an action, and not to comnli-
cate it bv postponement or cogitation ... The final picture is of a
kindly simplicity and a smiling energy.”16

154

RACE MOVEMENTS AND PREHISTORIC CULTURE

In discussing the Austric or Austro-Asiatic speakers .of India
and their contribution to the make-up of the Indian people, mention
should also be made of the theory of the Hungarian scholar William
Hevesy (Hevesy Vilmos, Wilhelm von Hevesy, Guillaume de Hevesy),
recently put forward in some books and papers in German and
French, combating Pater W. Schmidt’s theory of an Austric family
of languages divided into two groups, Austronesian and Austro-
Asiatic (the latter including the Kol or Mui?$a languages of India).10
Hevesy has challenged Pater Schmidt’s view that the Mun^a or Kol
peoples speak dialects which are members of the Austro-Asiatic
branch of Austric: he denies the existence of an Austric speech
family, and he proposes quite a different affinity for the Kol or
Mug<Ja languages, viz., Finno-Ugrian. Hevesy’s views were put for¬
ward for the first time in 1930, but so far they have met with neither
any general or wide acceptance nor a thorough or systematic refu¬
tation. According to Hevesy, Munda or Kol belongs to the Finno-
Ugrian speech-group, under which come Magyar or Hungarian,
Finn in its various dialects, Esth of Esthonia, Lapp of Lapland, and
Vogul, Ostyak, Zyrian, Votyak, Cheremis, Mordvin and Samoyed
of Russia and Siberia. Hevesy believes that there was a prehistoric
invasion of or immigration into India by Finno-Ugrian or Ugrian
tribes from the Eurasian plains to the south of the Ural Mountains,
and the Mundas or Kols with their language resulted from a mix¬
ture of these Ugrians with the earlier peoples of the country, the
Negritos and the Proto-Australoids. Hevesy bases his view on
certain points of agreement between the Kol speeches on the one
hand and the Finno-Ugrian speeches on the other— points of agree¬
ment which have not been admitted by any competent linguistician
who is equally at home in Kol and in Finno-Ugrian (and such a
person would be exceedingly rare to find). The points of cultural
similarity between the Kols and the Finno-Ugrians as proposed by
Hevesy are not convincing. There might have been an Ugrian in¬
flux into India, in very ancient times, but there is nothing positive
to establish it.

The Austric linguistic zone has been conjecturally extended
further to the west of India by Jean Przyluski and others, whp see
in the Sumerian speech of Chaldea a language allied to primitive
Austric. Przyluski has even seen an Austric substratum in Indo-
Iranian: certain words like Sanskrit nala — Persian bal “hair,” Sans¬
krit hhishaj-: Avestan bisaz “doctor.” “healing,” as connected with
Sanskrit visha “poison,” etc.. Przyluski explains as being from the
Austric. which would appear to have influenced Iranian also.160
But this, too, cannot he described as satisfactorilv established. We
may admit the possibility of Sumerian and Austric being related,
for we have to remember that the Pro to- Australoids, who are sup¬
posed to have been the original speakers of Austric. were a very

155

THE VED1C AGE

ancient offshoot of the Mediterranean race, and as such in their
trek to India, where they became specially characterized they may
have left some of their tribes on the way, or some of their kinsmen
might earlier have preceded them and had established, themselves
in Mesopotamia, to become the Sumerians who built up the basic
culture of that part of the world. But even then it seems that India
was the centre from which the Austria speech spread into the lands
and islands of the east and the Pacific; and the theory that there is
actually an Austric Family of, Languages in its two groups of Aus-
tronesian and Austro-Asiatic, as propounded by Pater W. Schmidt,
may he said to hold the ground still.

The Austric. Proto- Australoids were spread over the greater
part of India. In the Indus and Ganges valleys, when the Aryaps
first met them, they were known as Nishadas, and their dark skin
and snub noses were held in ridicule by the fair and straight-nosed
Aryans. The masses of agricultural Austrics in the North Indian
plains from Afghanistan to Eastern Bihar gradually became Aryan¬
speaking, roughly between c. 1500 B.C. (about when the first Aryan
invasion or land immigration into India took place) to c. 600 B.C.,
a little before the time of the Buddha: but even in the time of the
Buddha, pockets, large or small, of non- Aryan (Austric and Dravi-
dian) speakers still remained throughout this tract. We find, for
example, in the Buddhist Jatalcas, mention of Chan^ala villages
where they still employed the Chapdala tongue, a supposed word
from which is given — giligili — in the Chitta-samhhuta J at aka.
Through the contact of Aryan and Austric, and through large masses
of Austric speakers abandoning their native speech, the Aryan
speech came to be affected, in phonetics, in vocabulary, in morpho¬
logy and in syntax. The question of vocabulary, as said before,
has been taken up for study, and beginning with the pioneer re¬
searches of Jean Przyluski in this field, we are gradually being
enabled to find to what extent Austric vocables have found a place
in Indo-Aryan in its three stages of Old, Middle, and New Indo-
Aryan. Place-names in North India (and undoubtedly also in the
Deccan and South India) show Austric elements, thus indicating
the presence of Austric speakers in the. localities with these names.
A name like Gangd is in all likelihood of Austric origin, and it
appears to have meant just “ a river” as in its modem Bengali equi¬
valent gang " “river, channel.” Original Austric speakers form a
substratum in Burma, Indo-China and South China also, and the
Indian Gahgd , gang , the Indo-Chinese Khong as in Me-Jchong, and
the South-Chinese Kiang < *Kang < *Ghang (as in Y ang-tsze*Kiang
and a dozen other river names) — all of these can very, well be from
the same old Austric word, now lost to most of the Austric tongues.

We may next take into consideration the cultural world of the
Dravidian speakers with special reference to its contribution to the

156

RACE MOVEMENTS AND PREHISTORIC CULTURE

formation of the ancient Hindu world. Anthropologists, as noted
before, assume at least three varieties or modifications of the Medi¬
terranean race as having come to India, and all of these would
appear to have been speakers of Dravidian, at least in India — the
Palaeo-Mediterraneans, the Mediterraneans proper, and the so-called
‘‘Orientals.” They were all long-headed, and they came to India
with a fairiy high level of civilization. As contrasted with the
Proto-Australoids or Austrics, whose culture was mainly a village
culture based on agriculture, these Dravidian-speaking Mediterra¬
nean peoples (in their various ramifications) in India were respon¬
sible for cities and a city culture — for a real civilization, in the true
sense of the word, including international trade.

The Dravidian speeches of the present day stand apart in a
group by themselves, and although structurally they agree with
some other speech families (e.g. with the Ural-Altaic, family, which
includes the Altaic speeches like Mongol, Turki, and Manchu on
the one hand and the Ural or Finno-Ugrian speeches like Magyar,
Finn, Esth, Lapp, Ostyak. Yotyak, Zyrian, Cheremis, Samoyed, etc.,
on the other, in both Ural-Altaic and Dravidian possessing the same
“agglutinative” structure in word-formation), in their roots, words,
and affixes they do not agree with any current group of languages.
There are fundamental points of difference between Dravidian and
all the other sueech-families which are current in India — the Aus¬
tria the Sino-Tibetan and the Indo-European (Aryan). The Dravi¬
dian tongues now form a solid bloc in the Deccan and South India
to the south, of the sixteenth latitude: and between the twentv-
fourt.h and sixteenth latitudes, apart from the massive bloc of
Telugu in the centre and the east and that of Kannada in the west,
there are large Dravidian patches like Gondi, Kui, and Oraon which
have been broken up a very great deal by the infiltration of the
Aryan dialects.

But there is evidence, both indirect and direct, that in Central
India, in North India, and in Western India,, and possibly also in
Eastern India, Dravidian was at one time fairly widespread. In
Baluchistan we have the bloc of the Brahui speech, which is Dravi¬
dian; and it is quite conceivable that the Brahui area is just a sur¬
viving fragment of a very wide-spread Dravidian tract which ex¬
tended from Baluchistan and Sind through Rajputana and Malwa
into the present-day Maratha .country and the Dravidian lands of
the south, and v/hich also extended north and north-east in the
Punjab and the Ganges valley, and possibly also north-west through
Afghanistan into Iran.

Survival of Dravidian vocables in the place-names of Northern
India, interpretation of the references to non-Aryan peoples or
tribes in Vedic and other ancient Indian literature, the presence of
a strong Dravidian element in the Aryan language from the Vedic

157

THE VEDIC AGE

downwards, the gradual “Dravidization” in spirit of the Aryan
language leading to a very large approximation of the Modern or
New Indo-Aryan languages to the speech-habits of Dravidian, the
Dra vidian character of a good deal of the extra- Indo-European
elements in .Hindu religion, ritual and thought, mythology and
legendary history, and the discovery of a Mediterranean type in the
people of the Upper Ganges Valley — all these are strong evidences
in favour of an assumption that Dravidian speakers were largely
to be found in the Punjab and the Upper Ganges Valley also; and
toponomy and cultural survivals would point to an extension of
the Dravidian speakers further eastward into Bengal, although here
the long-headed Austrics and a brachycephalic people seem to have
largely intermingled. In the North India plains, more than any¬
where else, the Dravidian and Austric peoples appear to have been
living side by side: probably there was at first a Dravidian element
ruling over the Austric, and this was leading to a cultural and racial
fusion.

The want of a solid bloc of Dravidian speakers or of Austric
speakers in the Punjab and Upper Ganges Valley — the fact of the
land being inhabited by peoples of these two different language-
cultures — gave to the Aryan speech with its own culture- world its
greatest opportunity, so that within a few hundred years after the
Aryan language had been established in the Punjab, it could spread
as far as eastern Bihar, ousting the earlier pre-Aryan speeches,
and gaining greater momentum as its area extended east and south.

We are not absolutely certain that the city-builders of Harappa
and Mohenjo-daro in South Punjab and Sind, whom the Aryans
doubtless encountered, spoke Dravidian, but there is a balance of
probability that they did. This matter cannot be proved or dis¬
proved until we find the clue to the script in the hundreds of seals
found at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro and other sites. The Rev. H.
Heras, S. J. has sought to read Old Tamil in these seals from the
South Punjab and. Sind: but it is highly improbable that in epigraphs
from a culture-age going back to, say, 2500 B.C., there .should be
found a language which is not much older than A.D. 500. For
although the oldest of the Chen-tamizh or Old Tamil works in their
original form may go back to the centuries round about the time of
Christ, the language which is found in them is considerablv later.
Moreover, we have to take note of the fact that Old Tamil in its
nhonetics represents a very much decayed form of the primitive
D.ravidian speech, which — or something like which — alone be
expected to have h^en in use in the third millennium B.C., the ap¬
proximate date for the Mohenjo-daro culture. For example, the
word Tamil itself: tamiz. it has been verv conclusivelv established,
was pronounced *da/miz in the. earlv centuries of the Christian era.
and earlier, in the first half of the first millennium B.C. it was in

158

RACE MOVEMENTS AND PREHISTORIC CULTURE

all likelihood *dramifa> which was adopted into Sanskrit as Dramila ,
Dramida, Drained before the Christian era. All other attempts to
read right away, with the help of Sanskrit for instance, the South
Punjab and Sind seals need not be taken into serious consideration.

The Aryan invaders or immigrants found in India two groups
of peoples, one of which they named the Ddsas, and Dasyus, and
the other Nishddas . The Dasa-Dasyu people evidently had rami¬
fications or extensions in Iran as well: we have in the south-east of
the Caspian the Dahai people noted by the Greeks, and Ddha is but
the Iranian modification of Ddsa; and in Iranian the word dahyu
(whence Modern Persian dih) was in use, meaning “country ” or
“the countryside,0 which would only appear to have been originally
a tribal name, the Iranian equivalent of the Indo-Aryan dasyv ,
generalized to mean the “country0 only. In India the words ddsa
and dasyu changed their meaning — as names of the enemies of the
Aryans offering them resistance, who were frequently enough con¬
quered and enslaved, and these words came respectively to mean
“slave0 and “robber.” The two names appear originally to be relat¬
ed, both being from a root or base das or das: the words may after
all be Aryan or Indo-European in origin — cf. Sanskrit dasati “follows
up”, and likely equivalents of this Indo-Aryan root occur in other
Indo-European languages. We should note similar semantic changes in
Europe; how the Slav national appellation Slavic (meaning “glori¬
ous, noble”) came to be transformed into the word slave (as in
English), and how the Celtic tribal name Volcae became *Wala> or
♦Walk- in Germanic, and then came to signify “any foreign people,”
and gave rise to names like Wales , Wallachiat Walschand (— “Italy,”
in German) and names of peoples like Welsh and Vlach. The Dasa-
Dasyu ( — Daha-Dahyu) people would appear to have spread from
at least Eastern Iran through Afghanistan to North-Western and
Western India — Punjab (and probably the Western or Upper
Ganges Valley) and Sind — when the Aryans came into India.
There is no indication from the Higveda that the Aryans were
conscious of entering a new country when they came to India. This
was certainly due to the fact that they did not find any appreciable
difference in the non-Aryan people they encountered in India from
the non-Aryan people they knew in Eastern Iran. It is also equally
likely that racial and cultural fusion (including linguistic influencing!
had commenced between the Aryan and the Dasa-Dasvu peoples16*
outside the soil of India itself — in Iran, in all likelihood. The Vedio
speech160 already shows a number of words which are non-Arvan
words with Dravidian affinities, and shows at least in its phonetics
a profound modification on the lines of Dravidian by adopting or
developing the cerebral sounds (t .dn l sh ) which are so distinctive
of Dravidian.

When the hypothesis of an Arvan invasion and occupation of

159

THE VEDIC AGE

India was first proposed some four generations ago, it was believed
that the white-skinned, blue-eyed, and golden-haired Aryans, like
their kinsmen of Northern Europe, entered India from the plateau
of Central Asia, which was then a land of romantic mystery, came
to this land of the black-skinned non-Aryans, made an easy and
matter-of-course conquest of them, and imposed upon an inferior
race or races their superior religion, culture, and language. It was
believed that all the better elements in Hindu religion and culture
— its deeper philosophy, its finer literature, its more reasonable orga¬
nization, everything in fact -which was great and good and noble
in it — came from the Aryans as a superior white race; and what¬
ever was dark and lowly and superstitious in Hindu religion and
civilization represented only an expression of the suppressed non-
Aryan mentality. This view is now being gradually abandoned.
It has been generally admitted, particularly after a study of both
the bases of Dravidian and Aryan culture through language and
through institutions, that the Dravidians contributed a great many
elements of paramount importance in the evolution of Hindu civi¬
lization, which is after all (like all other great civilizations) a com¬
posite creation, and that in certain matters the Dravidian and Aus-
tric contributions are deeper and more extensive than that of the
Aryans. The pre-Aryans of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa were cer¬
tainly in possession of a higher material culture than what the semi-
nomadic Aryans could show.

The assumption that the Mohenjo-daro and Harappa people
spoke a primitive Dravidian speech accords best with the subse¬
quent trend of Indian history and civilization. From various aspects,
a mediterranean origin of the Dravidian people, its religion and civi¬
lization, appears to find good support. Reference may be made in this
connexion to the city culture of Harappa and the ancient cities of
Sind described in the next chapter. On the positive side, the cult of
Siva and the institution of Yoga appear to have been characteristic
of the religious life of the people of Sind and South Punjab. The
Aryans knew of a Sky Father — Dyaush Pita — and of an Earth
Mother — Prithv i Mat<i — but these divinities were vague nature dei¬
ties, who merely typified the falling of the rain from the sky to help
earth to produce corn and fruits. The Kols (e.g. the Santals) had
similarly a Sun god ( Sin Bonga) and a Moon goddess (fllinda Chando)
who were the great Father and Mother deities in . the Kol pantheon.
But the Dravidians had a conception of the forces of Life and of
the Universe in the forms of a Great Mother Goddess and her male
counterpart a Father God, and this conception, which was more
profound, more mystic, more all-embracing and more deeply philo¬
sophical as well as more poetic than the simple Aryan idea of a
material Sky Father and an equally material Earth Mother, the
Dravidians appear to have brought to India from their original

160

HACK MOVEMENTS AMD PREHISTORIC CULTURE

homeland in the islands of the -Kgean and the tracts of mainland
axong the Ailgean Sea — Greece and Asia Minor. Ma or Kubele
(Cybeie) and Atthis, or Hepit and Teshup, the great Asianic Mother
Goddess and Father God, the former having as her symbol or vehicle
the lion, the latter the bull, form undoubtedly one of the bases on
which the Siva-Uma cult of Hindu India grew up.

From linguistics, it can be reasonably assumed that the oldest
form of the word Tamil or Dravida (.which we can trace) was pro¬
bably v Dramila or * Dramiza . We find that the Lycians of Asia
Minor, a pre-Indo-European Mediterranean people, called them¬
selves in their inscriptions (written in their own speech in a script
allied to the ancient Greek) TrtuvuU. Herodotus has noted that
the Lycians originally came from the island of Crete, and that in
Crete the pre-Hellenic Asianic people were known by a name which
the Greeks wrote as Termilai. It would not perhaps be too much
to assume that some at least of the Dravidian speakers of India who
came ultimately from the Eastern Mediterranean tracts brought
with them one of their national or tribal appellations Termilai —
Tmuuili — Dramiza , which became transformed into the modern
name Tamil by the middle of the first millennium A.D. In South
Sind, the Greeks noted a people called Arabitai: they might very
well have been Dravidian speakers in the fourth century B.C., and
the name suggests the one which the Telugus apply to the Tamilians
— Aravalu: and Arava is explained scholastically as the Sanskrit
word a-rava “speechless, voiceless/’ suggesting the unintelligibility
of Tamil as a language for the Telugus. Be that as it may, the
culture-world presented by Dravidian (Tamil) linguistic palaeon¬
tology gives a fairly high background of civilization, which can be
compared with what has been unearthed at Mohenjo-daro and other
places, and with such indirect references to non- Ary an (Dravidian)
civilization and non-Aryan milieu as can be found in the Vedic
writings, hi 1856, Bishop Caldwell gave the following sketch of
the pre-Ayan civilization of the Dravidians from the evidence of.
the words in use among the early Tamilians17 (I give the Tamil
words within brackets after the English words) r The Tamils or
Dravidians “had ‘kings’ (Jed, ventant mannan ) who dwelt in ‘strong
houses’ ( kottai , aran) and ruled over small ‘districts of country’
(ntitu). They had ‘minstrels* (pulavan) who recited ‘songs’ ( chey -
yul) at ‘festivals’ (kon fa ttam, ti'raviza ); and they seem to have had
alphabetical characters (ezuttu) written (varai) with a style ( iraku )
on palmyra leaves (olai)s and a bundle of leaves was called a ‘bock’
(ntu): they acknowledged the existence of God. whom they styled
Ko or king — a realistic title known to orthodox Hinduism. They
created to his honour a ‘temple’ which they called Ko-iZ, God’s
house (IcdijU. hdvil). They had ‘laws' and ‘customs’ (katfalai% pazak-
kam). but no lawyers or judges. Marriage existed among them.

161

THE VEDIC AGE

They were acquainted with the ordinary metals, with the excep¬
tion of ‘tin,’ ‘lead* and ‘zinc,’ with the planets which were ordi¬
narily known to the ancients (e.g. veil * = 'Venus/ chevvay = ‘Mars/
viya%am— ‘ J upiter ’) with the exception of 'Mercury1 and ‘Saturn’.
They had ‘medicines’ ( maruntu ), 'hamlets’ (pajfi) and ‘towns’ (ur,
peftai), ‘canoes/ ‘boats/ and even ‘ships’ (small ‘decked’ coasting
vessels — t&rtl, ojam, vallam; kappal, pafavu), no acquaintance with
any people beyond the sea, except in Ceylon, which was then, per¬
haps, accessible on foot at low water; and no word expressive of
the geographical idea of ‘island’ or ‘continent.’ They were well
acquainted with ‘agriculture’ (er=‘plough/ velan-mai ‘agricul¬
ture’) , and delighted in ‘war/ They were armed with ‘bows’ (vii)
and ‘arrows’ (cwnpu), with ‘spears' (vel) and. ‘swords’ ( vd {). All
the ordinary or necessary arts of life, including ‘spinning’ (mil),
‘weaving’ (nei/), and ‘dyeing’ (nfram) existed among them. They
excelled in ‘pottery/ as their places of sepulture show.” The late
Professor P. T. Srinivasa Aiyangar (Iyengar) compiled a remark¬
able work,18 in which, on the basis of native Dravidian words in
Old Tamil, he has given us a most detailed survey of the type of
culture in all its ramifications which obtained among the Primitive
Tamil or Dravidian people before they began to come under the
influence of the Aryan speech and culture.

Hindu tradition is vaguely conscious of Hindu religious ideas
and philosophy, practices and ritual falling under two great cate¬
gories — agama and nigama . Nigama stands for the Vedic, i.e. the
pure Aryan world of ideas, centring round what has been called the
Vedic karmakanfa, the practical religion of. Vedic inspiration in
which the homa or fire-sacrifice to the gods of the Vedic world forms
the most noteworthy thing. Agama indicates what may be describ¬
ed as the Tantric and Puranic domain of religion and ritual, and it
includes yoga as a special form of mystico-religious ideology and
practice. Pure Nigama religion is what we see in the great Vedic
sacrifices which are still performed from time to time. Agamic
religion and ritual is largely influenced by the Nigamic or Vedic,
but it forms a world apart.

In ordinary Hindu usage, there is a good deal of compromise
between the two. Take, for example, the distinctive Hindu ritual
of the puja, by which we mean the worship of an image or a symbol
of the divinity by treating the latter, after it has been consecrated, as
a living personality, and bringing before it, as before a living being,
cooked food, vestments, ornaments, and other offerings which arc
usable by a man, and showing grateful worship by offering to it
flowers, the produce of the earth, and incense, and by waving lights
in front of it and playing and singing before it. This is something
which is quite different from the Vedic rite of the homa. , in which
a wood fire is lighted on an altar and certain offerings of food in the

162

RACE MOVEMENTS AND PREHISTORIC CULTURE

shape of meat and fat, butter and milk, cakes of barley, and soma or
spirituous drink, are offered to the gods, who are not at all symbo¬
lized by an image, but are supposed to dwell in the sky and to receive
these offerings through the fire.

The characteristic offerings in the puja rite, viz. flowers, leaves
fruits, water, etc., are not known to the homa rite, except in instan¬
ces where it has been influenced by the pujd. It has been suggested
with good reason that pujd is the pre-Aryan, in all likelihood the
Dravidian. form of worship, while the homa is the Aryan: and
throughout the entire early Vedic literature, the ptijd ritual with
flowers etc. offered to an image or symbol is unknown. The word
puja, from a root puj, appears, like the thing it connotes, to be of
Dravidian origin also. This word or root is not found in any Aryan
or Indo-European language outside India. Professor Mark Collins
suggested19 that the Sanskrit wrord pujd (from which the root puj
was deduced later) was nothing but a Dravidian pu “flower” plus
root “to do” (palatalized to je), which is found in Tamil as chey ,
in Kannada as ge and in Telugu as che: pujd < *pii-ge, *pu-chc
was thus a “flower ritual,” a “flower service,” a pushpa-karma, just
as homa described as pasu-karma or religious service entailing the
slaughter of an animal. Jarl Charpentier of Sweden derived pujd
from a Dravidian root pusu meaning “to smear,” as the smearing
of sandalpaste or blood forms an important item in the puja ritual.
But the use of blood, to be smeared over a piece of stone represent¬
ing a god or spirit — the blood of a sacrificed animal being later re¬
placed by red paint like the vermilion — would appear more to be
an Austric or Proto- Australoid rite than Dravidian.

In any case, the pre-Aryan, and in all likelihood Dravidian,
origin of this most noteworthy ritual of a finished Hindu religion,
would appear to be quite reasonable to assume. In the present-day
texture of Hindu culture and religion the warp appears to be Dra¬
vidian and the weft Aryan. Puja with flowers, leaves, and water
was, so far as the first Aryans who came to India' were concerned,
ah alien rite, a local “native” usage, not to be approved, much less
adopted, by the Brahma^as and others who claimed to be true Aryans.
But “Greece captured her captor”. The native or local cults and
creeds did not die — on the otHer hand the exotic homa largely be¬
came moribund, being kept up artificially among limited groups
of Brahmanas and Kshatriyas, and the puja came to assume its
present important place in the religious life of the mixed Hindu
people which resulted from the fusion of the Aryan and the non-
Aryan. The first conscious attempt to give the imprimatur to pujd
as a rite, which is to be taken sympathetically, we find in that great
work of synthesis in Hindu thought and life, the Bhagavad-Gitd of
the Mahdbharata , which would appear to have been compiled round

163

THE VEDIC AGE

about the age of Christ; although through certain surreptitious rites
like kaka-bali or offerings to crows and other birds, something ana*
logous to the puja was being given a place in the Grihya or domestic
rites of the blue-blooded Aryan householders. The Gita passage
(IX. 26) runs thus:

patram pushpam phalam toyaiji yo me bhaktya prayachchhati.,.

tad — aham bhakty-upahritam == asnami prayatatmanah:

“If anyone offers me with devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit, and
water , I receive that, offered in devotion by the person* whose soul
is disciplined.”

The context makes it clear that hexe we have an apology for no n-
Vedic worship vis-a-tns the Vedic nre-sacrifice: this verse, in fact,
forms the great charter for the puju ritual within the milieu of Vedic
Brahmanism.

The acceptance of pre-Aryan (Dravidian) ritual meant also
the acceptance of the conception, of the divinity and of the mytho¬
logical figures of the gods and goddesses which were current among
them. In mediaeval and modern Hinduism, certain divinities stand
paramount like Siva and Uma, Vishnu (specially. in his incarnations
of Rama and Krishna) and Sri, together with some other gods and
goddesses of a secondary character who claim the homage of
the people like Hanumant, Gariesa and Sitala. The popular gods
of the Vedic Aryans — Indra, Agni, Varuiia, Soma, Surya, Ushas,
Pushan, Par j any a and the rest — gradually recede into the back¬
ground, and a group of more puissant and more personal gods, more
profound and cosmic and more philosophical, in their conception,
the Puranic gods of Hinduism headed by Siva-Uma and Sri-Vishiju,
become established. As it has been said before, Siva and Uma
are in all likelihood fundamentally of Dravidian origin, and as such,
they are the. Indian modification — and philosophic sublimation —
of the great Mother-Goddess and her consort of the Mediterranean
peoples. The name Siva has been explained as being at least partly
of Dravidian origin: in Tamil, for instance, Sivan (Chivan) means
red, and the divinity was known to the early Aryans as Nila-lohita
“the Red One with blue (throat)” (referring to the legend found
in the turaiias of later times and unquestionably mentioned in
Rigveda, (X. 136, vii), of Siva having drunk up the world poison
and preserved it in his throat which became marked with blue for
this). Sambhu, another common name or epithet of Siva, has been
compared with the Tamil chempu or sembu meaning “copper,”
i.e. “the red metal.” Siva and the Vedic ^Rudra have been identified:
it is just likely that the name of the Red God of the Dravidian
speakers, the most important divinity in their pantheon, was first
rendered into the Aryan speech as *Rudhraf and then this name
was easily identified with an already existing Aryan Storm God, the

164

RACE MOVEMENTS AliD PREHISTORIC CULTURE

father of the Maruts or the Storm Winds, whose name Rudra in
Aryan meant quite a different thing — -“the Roarer” (from root
rud).20 The name Uma, recalls Ma, the Great Mother of the Asianic
and East Mediterranean peoples: and Durgd, as one of the common
epithets of the Mother Goddess Uma, we can compare with Trqqas,
a deity mentioned in the Lycian inscriptions of Asia Minor.2 1
Vishnu is partly Aryan, a form of the Sun-God, and partly at least
the deity is of Dravidian affinity, as a shy-god whose colour was of
the blue sky (cf. Tamil, vi® “sky” and the Middle Indo-Aryan or
Prakrit form of Visn^u, which was vintiu, vennu).22 $ri is, to start
with, an Aryan divinity, the Indian counterpart of the Goddess
connected with the harvest or corn and with wealth, beauty, and
well-being, whom we find in the Italic world as Ceres among
the Latins. But in her association with Vishnu, as Gaja-lakshmi
for instance, she is indigenous and pre-Aryan.23 Kpishria (in Prakrit
Kanha, in Tamil Kannan) is a demon opposed to Indra in the Rig-
veda; according to P. T. Srinivasa Aiyangar, he represents, partially
at least, a Dravidian God of Youth, who has later been identified with
Vishnu as an incarnation of his.

Another Dravidian God of Youth and youthful powers, of bra¬
very and war, was Murukan, who in the composite Puranic mytho¬
logy became Kuniara or Skanda, the son of Siva.24 Ganesa, the
elephant-headed demon who was to be appeased at the outset of any
function to avert supernatural hindrances, remained such a demon
with the Mahayana Buddhists, but with the Brahmanical Hindus he
was transformed into the benign god who removes obstacles and
who typifies wisdom. The very character of the god as having an
elephant-head shows his native Indian, i.e. pre-Aryan origin.

The phallic symbol of Siva, the linga, appears to be, both in its
form and name, of Austric or Proto- Australoid origin. We should
remember that the mysterious upright conical stones set up on the
ground (like the menhirs in the Celtic areas in Europe) were very
much in evidence as cult objects among the Mon-Khmers and the
Kols, and these bore a resemblance to the digging stick used among
them as a primitive plough; and Jean Przyluski has shown, as it
has been noted before, how the words linga, lakufa, lagwja, languid
are of Austric origin. But the figure of S.iva as the great Yogin,
seated in yogic meditation, as Virupaksha or “the terrible One.”
as PaSupati or “the Lord of Animals, or Souls,” as Urdhva-linga
or “the One with the erect creative force,” — in fact, all the deeper
and more philosophical traits in the conception of Siva appear
to have been known among the Mohenjo-daro people, as shown by
the very important seal with the figure of a divinity who can only
be identified with Siva of later times.26 And assuming that the
Mohenjo-daro and Harappa people were Dravidian speakers, this
would be only another corroboration of the Siva idea and the Siva

165

v a.— n

THE VEDIC AGE

legends being of Dravidian origin: only this symbol of the Linga in
ihe gauri-pafta or yoni being derived to some extent from the Austric
menhirs, which survived till recently in the Muri^a sasan-diris or
family burial stones.

Zoomorphic divinities, or lower animals as typifying the forces
of nature and supplying symbols or figures for the supernatural or
the godhead, appear to have been known to the Aryans only to a
limited extent. Thus Indra and other powerful gods have been
compared with bulls or rams, and Agni with the horse, and there
is also the divine horse named Dacttiikravan in the Veda. But
the extent to which zoomorphic deities came into prominence in
Puranic Hinduism is something noteworthy, rivalling the ancient
Egyptian pantheon in this respect. The submerged totemism of the
Proto-Australoids possibly was the oldest and most powerful source
of influence for this, and the worship of the Nagas or serpentine
deities and water spirits would appear to have come from the
Proto- Australoids. Garu^a as the vehicle bird of Vishnu is partly
a divine eagle — Suparna — of the Aryans and partly of Dravidian
or Mediterranean origin; the name would appear to be Dravidian
(cf. Tamil ka$u “kite, eagle”). The sacredness of the ox and the
cow may have some Aryan elements in it, but the honour paid to
the cow among the Iranian Aryans might be, at its basis, of Dasa-
Dasyu origin, as much as in India.

The great zoomorphic deity of India is of course Hanumant,
the so-called Monkey-God. His greatness has no doubt been added
to in later times by the Bhakti school of mediaeval Hinduism, which
saw in him an ideal devotee of Rama, God incarnate as the hero of
the Rdmdyana legend. But in popular belief throughout the greater
part of India (in Bengal alone his worship is not so intensely popu¬
lar), he is something more than a simple Bhakta or devotee. He
is a fertility deity, who gives children to barren women; and he
is the helper at need and remover of obstacles. It seems, as F.E.
Pargiter’s significant research26 into the name of Hanumant war¬
rants us in assuming, that there was a great Monkey -God who ob¬
tained the worship of the pre-Aryan peoples (namely Dravidians)
of India, and whose name was in the Dravidian speech just “the
Male Monkey” (in Tamil, An-manti). The Aryan speakers came
to know this god, and his name was at first translated into the
Aryans’ language as Vrishd-kapi. His worship was slowly entering
by the back-door among the Aryan speakers through contact with
the Dravidians, and this was resented by a certain element among
the Aryan people: but others were acquiescing in the introduction
of this “native” cult. An echo of this ideological conflict we find
in the Vrishd-kapi hymn of the Rigveda (X. 86). But Vrishd-kapi
became admitted into the newly formed Aryau-non-Aryan pan¬
theon, and his original Dravidian name An-manti, as in Tamil, was

1 66

RACE MOVEMENTS AND PREHISTORIC CULTURE

then Sanskritized into Hanumant, and under this name he is still
a powerful deity in popular Hinduism, the sublimation of his cha¬
racter by Bhakti adding but fresh lustre to his pristine popularity
as a strong helper in need and remover of distress, the rough and
ready god of a primitive people.

The extent to which the Aryan religion has been modified by
Austric and Dravidian contacts is sufficient indication of the pro¬
found influences exerted by the latter in the evolution of the Hindu
religion. There has been a widespread racial mixture, as anthro¬
pology has indicated. In culture, speaking in the Indian way, one
may say that over twelve annas in the rupee is of non-Aryan origin.
The bases of Indian economy — food (rice or wheat or millet with
pulses or lentils as relish, milk products like ghee and curds, vege¬
tables, occasionally a little goat or mutton, and fish and oil of various
sorts where milk is not common, as opposed to the Aryan meal of
barley cakes and meat and butter), dress (unsewn cotton cloth
worn in three pieces as dhoti or sari i.e. loincloth, dupafta or shawl,
and head-cloth or turban, in place of the woollen garments of the
Aryans), and dwelling, are pre-Aryan; our way of thinking is un-
Aryan — the syntax of the later lndo-Aryan dialects agrees more
with that of the Dravidian languages than with that of Vedic and
of the extra -Indian Indo-European languages; our counting and com¬
putation is largely on the basis of eight , which is Dravidian (Mark
Collins has explained ompattu the Tamil word for “nine” as being
really the Aryan una “one less” plus Tamil pattu “ten,” and the
Telugu tommidi as really meaning “broken ten” thus suggesting
that eight was the common number in computation), combined to

some extent with counting by tens, which is Aryan, and to a slight
extent oh the basis of twenty as the highest number, which is
Austric (as Jean Przyluski has shown). Many of our social insti¬
tutions and conventions (e.g., certain usages regarding prohibited
degrees in marriage, and customs like a wife being on familiar
terms with her husband’s younger brother but regarding his elder
brother a^ her father) and a good many of our wedding and other
customs (e.g. the practice known as stri-achara with its attendant
paraphernalia of the various produce of the earth arranged in a
winnowing fan, the use of turmeric and vermilion in the wedding
ritual, the employment of the coconut and betel-leaf in many of our
ceremonies) are of non-Aryan origin. We have a fairly extensive
element from the Austric and the Dravidian languages in our Indo-
Aryan speech: the number — at least a hundred for Austric, and
some four hundred and fifty for Dravidian as given by Kittel in his
Kannada Dictionary — seems to be on the way to increase the more
our knowledge of this matter is deepening and widening. Tn their
phonetics. Indo*Aryan. Austric and Dravidian have converged more
or less to a common Indian sound-system. Despite a number of

167

THE VEDIC AGE

noteworthy differences due to original diversity of race and speech
and to climatic and economic conditions, the bases of Indian pre-
Aryan (Austric and Dravidian) life and culture, modified by the
language and ideology of the Aryans, and later by the ideology of
Islam, still remain, and they form a specifically Indian background
for a civilization and an outlook that may be described as pan*
Indian.

The discovery of Mycenaean artifacts in Greece has proved
the truth of what the great explorer of i£ge an culture, Sir Arthur
Evans, had suspected, that a good deal of the heroic legends of
Greece as well as of the legends of their gods and goddesses was
of pre-Hellenic, i.e. pre-Indo-European, Aegean or Mediterranean
origin, and these were simply Hellenized by being rendered into
the Indo-European language of the Greeks as soon as this language
became established on its new territory. The stories of the Iliad
and the Odyssey and of CEdipus and other heroes were according
to this view of ASgean origin, and this’ has been corroborated, in
spirit at least, for some other connected legends. A similar thing
appears to have taken place in India. Myths and legends of God-;
and Heroes current among the Austrics and Dravidians, long ante¬
dating the period of Aryan advent in India (c. 1500 B.C.), appear to
have survived the Aryan impact and to have been rendered into
the Aryan language in late and garbled, or “improved/’ versions
accommodating themselves to the Aryan God- and Hero-worlds;
and it is these myths and legends of gods, kings, and sages which
we largely find in the Puraapas. The Rama legend looks like a
blend of three distinct stories without any historicity put together
at different times (the Ayodhya intrigue and the .banishment of
Rama, the abduction of Slta and her recovery by Rama, and the
episode of the monkey princes), and seems to have grown up in
Eastern India, with an Austric background; but later it . was re-
edited as a national poem within the gorgeous framework of the
composite and highly complex 'H^indu civilization of 2.000 years
ago. The Mahabharata story, on the other hand, which developed
in the Midland (present-day Western United Provinces and Eastern
Punjab), would appear to embody a good deal of the legends, tradi¬
tions, and history of the Aryans as well as of the mixed Aryan-non-
Aryan peoples, and was created consciously as the national poem of a
new Hindu nation of mixed origin welded into one people under
Brahmaipa guidance. Viewed in this light, the pre-Vedic antiquity
of a number of heroic tales and legends and dynastic “histories”
as being really pre- Aryan, possibly Dravidian, can be properly
understood, as cases of rendering, in the Aryans* language of pre-
Arvan material.

On the ideological plane, the synthesis of the Aryan and non-
Aryan mentalities and attitudes towards life has given rise con-

168

RACE MOVEMENTS AND PREHISTORIC CULTURE

sciously as well as unconsciously to a common set of ideals which
are actively practised, or are subscribed to, by the greater part of
Indian humanity, and these ideals are along the following lines: a
sense of the unity of all life through its being an expression of an
Unseen Reality t which is both immanent and transcendent; a desire
for synthesis, to combine apparently disconnected or discordant
fragments in life as well as experience in their proper place in an
essential unity; a rigid and intransigent adherence to the intellect
while seeking to harmonize it in the higher plane with the emotions
and with the mystic sense; a recognition of the sorrows of life,
leading to a sincere attempt to go to' the root causes of these with
a view to remove them from the life of the individual, the com
munity, and the whole of humanity; a desire to attain to the Unseen
Reality as the solution of all evil and suffering through the ways
of knowledge, of mystic realization by discipline, faith, and devo¬
tion, and of disinterested service; a sense of the sacredness of all
life which is sought to be maintained by passive non-injury ( ahimsa ).
by intellectual pity (koruna), and by practical charity and well¬
doing ( maitrT ); and an acceptance of all spiritual experiences as
true and as inevitable, and a tolerance for all of these so long as
they do not interfere with the rights of others. A broad toleration
which is the result of a wide understanding, and the doctrine of
“live and let live” — these characterized, or formed the bedrock of
the civilization of India; and this attitude was the result of this
civilization being in its origin a complex harmony of composites,
where there has not been any consciously active or successful strug¬
gle to maintain the racial, linguistic and cultural superiority of one
of the component elements over the others.

The speakers of the Austric, Dravidian and Indo-European
Aryan tongues, racially Proto Australoids, Mediterraneans, Nordics.
Alpines, and Dinarics, made up the Indian people land built up the
civilization of India. After this civilization had taken its definite
colour and its special orientation, by the middle of the first millen¬
nium B.C. another new racial and culture-language element came
into India — the Mongoloid Sino-Tibetan speakers — the Kiratas; but
they touched only the fringe of India in the north and the north-east
and their influence was but local, and not of much significance.
According to a Tibetan tradition of very doubtful value, the Tibetans
first settled in Tibet during the time of the Buddha. But it was
over a thousand years after that, in the seventh century A. D., that
they came in active contact with India — an India which was al¬
ready far advanced in her composite Aryan-non- Aryan culture.
The various Sino-Tibetan tribes were in a very primitive and back¬
ward condition . and they did not have much to give to the Indians,
of Austric-Dravidian-Aryan affinities and origin. There is a Mon¬
goloid stratum in the Himalayas and in the traces immediately to the

169

THE VEDIC AGE

south, in Assam, in North and East Bengal; and in the evolution of
Aryan languages like Gorkhali or Nepali, Bengali and Assamese,
some Sino-Tibetan (Tibeto-Burman) influence has been suggested.
The Sino-Tibetan peoples, at least those among them who could
benefit by their contact with Indian culture, thoroughly imbibed it
and, like the Newars of Nepal valley, became fully Indianized. It
is only where they are remote from the Aryan-speaking Indians that
they are able to maintain their separate identity a little; but their
absorption into an Aryan-speaking Indian body-politic is inevitable,
whether in Nepal or in Bengal or in Assam. But in the process
of their becoming completely Indianized, they are sure to make
at least some temperamental contribution to the Indian populations
of the north and the north-east, if not much in the way of the material
or spiritual: and it is for the future to disclose what line this Kirata,
this Indo-Mongoloid or Mongoloid contribution to Indian mentality
and culture will take.27

1. The Census of India, 1901.

2. Indo-Aryan Races. I, Rajshahi, 1916.

3. The Census of India, 1931, Vol. I, pp. 424 ff.

4. “Racial affinities of the Peoples of Tndia” in The Census of India, 1931, Vol. I,
Part ITT f 1935) ; An outline of the Racial Ethnology of India , Calcutta, 1937. .

5. Racial Elements in the Population, No. 22 of “Oxford Pamphlets on Indian
Affairs,” Oxford University Press, Bombay, 1944.

6. For a detailed discussion on these points, cf. Ch. X.

7. Racial Elements in the Population, p. 26.

8. The Census of India, 1931, Report. Part I, p. 443.

9. For these, cf. Ch. VXL

10. Cf. M ata-Hari by Renward Brandstetter, Lucerne, 1908. Brandstetter’s linguistic
papers on Indonesian are available in English translation by C. O. Blagden
(RASB, London).

11. Some of the important papers in this connection have been translated from
French into English by Dr. P.C. Bagchi with additional notes and papers in his
Pre-Aryan and Pre-Dravidian in India (Calcutta University, 1929).

12. S, K. Chatterji, “Two New Indo-Aryan Etymologies” in the ZII, Band 9,
Leipzig, 1933-34, pp. 31 ff.

13. P.C. Bagchi, Pre- Aryan and Pre-Dravidian in India; J. Przyluski, “Hippokoura
et Satakami” (JRAS, 1929, pp. 274-9; English translation in JAHRS , Vol. IV.
Part I, 1930); S. K. Chatterji, “Non-Aryan Elements in Indo-Aryan” ( JG1S ,
XH, 42).

14. P. Mitra, “A Vedic Night of the Moon in Polynesia,” Calcutta Oriental Journal,
Vol. I, July, 1934.

15. W. G. Archer, The Blue Grove, the Poetry of the Oraons (London, 1340), p. 19.

16. A resume of Hevesy’s views has been given by Dr. Biren Bonnerjee in 1C, 1937,
pp. 621-32.

16a. J. Przyluski, “Emprunts anaryens en Indo-aryes,” Le Monde Oriental, Vol. 28
(1934), pp. 140 ff.

16b. For Dasa-Dasyu, cf. also Ch. XIII.

16c, The Vedic speech would seem to have been written down in a sort of Proto-
Braliml as an adaptation of the pre-Aryan Harappa and Mohenjo-daro script
for the Aryan language in the tenth century B.G., when “Vyasa ,” contemporary
of the Mahahhdrata battle, could compile the Veda books from the floating
mass of oral religious literature current among the Aryans — and Vyasa, accord¬
ing to a tradition preserved by Al-Biruni, rediscovered for the Hindus their
alphabet. (For different views about the date of the Mahahhdrata battle, cf.
Ch, XIV).

17. Comparative Grammar of the- Dravidian Languages, third edition (1913), p. 113.

18. Pre-Aryan Tamil Culture, Madras, 1930. ’ .

19. Dravidic Studies, Uo.’ Ill (University of Madras), pp. 59 ff.

170

RACE MOVEMENTS AND PREHISTORIC CULTURE

20. P. T. Srinivasa Aiyangar (Iyengar), Life in Ancient India in the Age 6f the
Mantras (Madias, 1912), p. 125; Dravidic Studies, No. Ill, pp. 61-2.

21 . S. K. Chatterji. ‘'Dravidian Origins and the Beginnings of Indian Civilization,”
(MR, Dec. 1924, p. 679).

22. P.T.S. Aiyangar, op.cit., p. 126.

23. Dravidic Studies , No. Ill, p. 62.

24. Cf. also Pre -Aryan Tamil Culture.

25. Cf. Ch. IX.

26. JR AS , 1913, p. 400.

27. For the Kiratas or Indo-Mongoloids, see Hasten Ronnow in Le Monde Oriental ,
Vol. XXX (1936), pp. 90-169.

171

CHAPTER IX

THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

Until as recently as 1922* early Indian history had little actual
remains to offer besides the meagre palaeolithic and neolithic finds,
described above (Ch. VII), and the Piprahwa relic was the oldest
object of which the date (c. fifth century B . C.) could be approxi¬
mately determined. The antiquity of Indian history and culture
as gleaned from Vedic literature is also not supposed to go beyond
the second millennium before Christ. But the archaeological dis¬
coveries at Harappa, Mohenjo-daro and other localities (see map
No. 2) in the Indus valley have pushed back this limit, at a single
stretch, to 3000 B.C., if not to a still remoter period, and India
can now lay claim to the honour of being a pioneer of civilization
along with Sumer, Akkad, Babylon, Egypt, and Assyria.

The fascinating story of the excavations at various places in the
Indus valley has been told above (Ch. TXI) and we shall now’ try to
reconstruct a picture of the culture and civilization that flourished
in this region from the remains found principally at Harappa and
Mohenjo-daro.

1. THE TOWN

A visitor to the ruins at Mohenjo-daro Uhe city of the dead)
is struck by the remarkable skill in town-planning and sanitation
displayed by the ancients, and, as an English writer has observed,
“feels himself surrounded by ruins of some present-day working
town in Lancashire.” The city was entered from the north and
south by the First Street, which is amply wide for both wdieeled
traffic and pedestrians. East Street, which is the main thorough¬
fare through the ruins is wider than First Street. The junction
of these two is nicknamed “Oxford Circus*’ by archaeologists.

The city was the creation of careful forethought and planning,
as is indicated by the striking regularity of the divisions, the suc¬
cessfully aligned streets, the orientation of all principal streets to
the points of the compass, the correspondence of the houses and
public buildings with the orientation of thoroughfares, etc. Streets
varied from 9 feet to 34 feet in width and ran straight sometimes as
far as half a mile. They intersected at right angles dividing the
city into square or rectangular blocks. Inside this square or ob¬
long, the area is intersected by a number of narrow lanes crowded
with houses. Each lane has a public well, and most of the houses
have each a private wyell and a bath. Nowhere was a building
allowed to encroach on a public highway as in Sumer. The angles

172

THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

of the smaller by-ways appear to have been rubbed by pack-animals,
and the corners of some buildings were rounded off in order that
loads might not be dislodged. The city had an elaborate drainage
system consisting of horizontal and vertical drains, street drains,
soakpits, etc., which is described later on. The industrial and com¬
mercial quarters as well as the lowly abodes of artisans and shop¬
keepers and the palatial mansions of the rich can easily be distin¬
guished among the ruins. The general impression is that of “a
democratic bourgeois economy” as in Crete.

The architecture of Mohenjo-daro, in general, is plain and
utilitarian, rather solid than beautiful. There are no sumptuous
temples as in Sumer nor monumental tombs as on the Nile. In
contrast to Sumer, there is an absence of round columns, recessed
doorways, and semi-circular pilasters. The true arch was unknown
and the corbelled arch and square or rectangular columns were
used instead. The aim in the Indus Valley was to make life com¬
fortable and luxurious rather than refined or artistic.

Harappa is larger in extent than Mohenjo-daro, and had a
longer span of life, but presents nearly the same features. Wells
at Harappa are rare as compared to Mohenjo-daro. 1a The most
remarkable and largest building at Harappa is the Great Granary,
measuring 169 feet by 135 feet, which comprises two similar blocks
with an aisle, 23 feet wide, between them. Each block has six
halls, alternating regularly with five corridors, and each hall is fur¬
ther partitioned into four narrow divisions. Another discovery at
Harappa is the workmen’s quarters, which comprise fourteen small
houses built in two blocks separated by a long narrow' lane. Each
house is open on all sides, rectangular, and consists of a courtyard
and two rooms.

At the hill sites in the narrow corridor between the Indus and
the Kirthar range, excavated by Mr. Majumdar, bricks were never
used as at Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, and other sites. Hill-side houses
were made of stone at the base up to a height of two to three feet.
Mud, reed, and wood were used in building superstructures. No
fortifications were discovered at Mohenjo-daro and Harappa; on the
outskirts of Ali Murad and Kohtras were found fortified palaces made
of stone, which was but rarely used in the plains, not being easily
available there. At sites around Lake Manchar people lived in
pile dwellings.

In building walls, pavements, bath-rooms, drains, wells, etc.
burnt brick, possibly made from ordinary alluvial soil, was lavishly
used. Sun-dried brick was used only for foundations, packing of
terraces, etc. Bricks are ordinarily rectangular in shape, well made,
and excellently preserved. Even at the lowest levels we find well-
made bricks which would be a credit even to a modern brick-maker.
Wedge-shaped bricks were invariably used in constructing wells.

THE VEDIC AGE

and were made in a mould. Sawn bricks were used in bath-rooms
to ensure evenness of floor. Curved bricks, which were used for
the building of bins lining of wells, have hitherto been found
only at Chanhu-daro. None of the bricks have grooves or depres¬
sions. Brick kilns have been found at Mohenjo-daro. The colour
of the bricks ranges from straw to bright red.

Seven different layers have been recognized in the excavations
at Mohenjo-daro. The antiquities in all these levels are homogene¬
ous, the only point of difference being the deterioration of masonry
in the later occupation of the cities. Mud mortar was generally
used as a cementing material. In drains, where more strength or
binding force was required, lime and gypsum mortar were used.
The joints in some of the brick-work are so fine that even a thin
knife cannot be inserted in them. Occasionally, bitumen was used
for water proofing.

Foundations were carried to considerable depths and crude
brick was used for infilling. Buildings were erected on artificial
mud platforms as a precaution against floods to which ancient Sind
was subject.

In most walls bricks were laid in the English Bond method, in
alternate headers and stretchers, care being taken to break the
joints. A filling of clay or rubble was used between the faces in
very thick walls in order to economize bricks. In most cases the
vertical alignment of buildings is marvellous, indicating that a
plumb bob or a similar instrument was used. This was done by
placing each course a little back from the course below or by em¬
ploying specially moulded bevelled edged bricks. Walls surmount¬
ing pavement were wainscotted with bricks laid on edge standing
3 feet above the floor level.

The buildings thus far unearthed in the Indus Valley fall into
three main classes: (i) dwelling houses, fii) larger buildings, and
fiii) public baths.

There is much variation in the size of dwelling houses. The
smallest have no more than two rooms, while the largest are so
vast as to rank almost as palaces. Outside walls of the dwelling
houses were severely plain.

Ordinarily there was an entrance from the street side. The
houses were quite commodious, divided into well sized rooms, con¬
taining wells and bath-rooms, and provided with covered drains con¬
nected with street drains. The open court was the basic feature of
house planning in the Indus Valley, as in Babylon. The courtyard
which was usually paved with bricks laid flat v/as surrounded by
chambers, and doors and windows opened into it. The kitchen was
placed in a sheltered corner of the courtyard, and the ground floor
contained store rooms, well chambers, bath, etc. Every house had
a separate bath-room, placed at the street side, paved with care-

174

THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

fully laid burnt bricks, which sloped to a corner containing the
drain carrying off waste water. Vertical drain pipes suggest that
baths were constructed on the upper storeys also. Doors were
possibly made of wood and were placed at the ends of the walls,
not in the middle. Ordinary houses very rarely had windows, in
their outer walls. Possibly perforated lattices were used as win¬
dows or ventilators at the top of the wall. Stairways, made of
solid masonry, are found in nearly every house. They were built
straight and steep, with treads unusually narrow and high. In
some cases, the stairways led to the upper storeys which contained
the bath and the living and sleeping apartments. Roofs were flat
and made of wood. It appears that no latrines were ordinarily
provided, or they were situated at the top. Doorless chambers in
some houses have variously been taken to be cellars, or cess pits
for latrines, or sleeping apartments, or solid foundations as a pre¬
caution against floods, or treasure rooms.2 Practically every house
had its own well, and public wells were placed between two houses,
with a pavement of burnt brick which sloped down to a drain at
one corner. Two wells have a square coping at the top, and two
are elliptical in shape. Some form of windlasses appears to have
been used for drawing water.

The elaborate drainage system is a unique feature of the Indus
Valley Civilization, the like of which has not yet been found in any
other city of the same antiquity. Below principal streets and many
lanes ran a main drain, 1 to 2 feet deep, covered with brick or stone,
and provided with sumps and inspection traps at regular intervals.
Individual house drains, each one with its own sump pit, opened
into the street drains, which in their turn opened into great culverts
emptying into the river. All soak pits and drains were occasional¬
ly cleared by workmen, and drains were provided with manholes
at intervals for cleaning. This elaborate drainage system, like the
town-planning, constitutes a notable point of difference with Sumer,
where the inhabitants* had, in most cases, vertical pottery drainage
shafts beneath their courtyards, but these had no outlet.

As regards larger buildings, some, which were earlier indicated
as temples, were later taken to be khans. With the possible excep¬
tion of the building housing the Great Bath, no building has yet
been cleared which can definitely be called religious. The great
structure near the Stupa , with extra-thick outer walls, has been
named the Collegiate Building, and probably housed some high
official, the high priest, or a college of priests. A pillared hall, 80
feet square, divided into long corridors interspersed with low ben¬
ches having even seats, has the chief seat at right angles to the
corridors. It may probably have served for a public assembly.

The Great Bath, which has been taken to be a part of a vast
hydropathic establishment is “a swimming bath on a scale which

175

THE VEDIC AGE

would do credit to a modern seaside hotel.”3 The overall dimen¬
sions of the building housing it are 180 feet by 108 feet. The actual
bathing pool, measuring 39 feet by 23 feet with a depth of 8 feet, is
situated in the middle of a quadrangle having verandahs on ail
sides. At either end, there is a raised platform and a flight of
steps, with another platform at the base of each flight of steps. The
floor is made of bricks laid on edge, and the walls have been made
water-tight by employing specially trimmed brick in gypsum mor¬
tar with an inch of damp proof course of bitumen. There is a vault¬
ed culvert, 6 feet 6 inches high, at the south-western corner, which
could fill and empty the tank. On three sides at the back of the
verandahs are various rooms and galleries. There is a spacious
verandah with small rooms at the southern end. There are six en¬
trances to the building containing the bath. It cannot be definitely
stated whether the Great Bath was used entirely for secular pur¬
poses or for religious ceremonies.

Near the south-west corner of the Great Bath is a hammam or
hot air bath. It has a number of rectangular platforms of brick
about 5 feet high, having a series of vertical chases sunk in their
sides. There is another similar building at Mohenjo-daro which
shows that the Indus people understood the principle of the hypocaust
and had Turkish baths. Another bath-room establishment consist¬
ed of two rows of bath-rooms separated by a narrow passage, each
bath-room having a stairway, a narrow doorway and carefully
paved floor. According to Dr. Mackay, these ablution places were
meant for the priests, while the Great Bath was for the general
public.

The careful town-planning, adequate water supply, and effi¬
cient drainage system presuppose an advanced state of civic autho¬
rity. Lamp-posts at intervals indicate me existence of street light¬
ing. There was also a watch and ward system for different quar¬
ters, and large caravanserais and public store-houses were provided.
That the sanitation was well looked after is seen from the rubbish
heap consisting of broken pottery, ashes and humus found in deep
trenches outside the city. Trees and plants were allowed to grow
in the enclosures. The later levels of the city, however, show the
decline of civic authority, as buildings were erected in a haphazard
manner, there were encroachments upon lanes, and potters were
quartered in the city.

2. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC LIFE

All the skeletons unearthed at Mohenjo-daro belong to the chal-
colithic period and may be taken as representative of an urban
population. Craniological tests reveal the presence of four racial
types at Mohenjo-daro, viz., (i) Proto- Australoid: fii) Mediterranean;
(in) Mongoloid and (iv) Alpinoid (ante. Ch. VIII). The cosmopoli-

176

PLATE I

Courtesy: Archaeological Survey of India

CORBELLED DRAIN, MOHENJO-DARO (See p. 175)

PLATE II

GREAT BATH, MOHENJO-DARO (See p. 1 75)

PLATE III

JEWELLERY— NECKLACES, MOHENJO-DARO (See p. 178)

PLATE IV

WM- IIP

®L

Courtesy: Archaeological Survey of India

PERSONAL ORNAMENTS, MOHENJO-DARO (See p. 178)

PLATE V

Courtesy: AYchcieological Survey of India

ARTS AND CRAFTS, MOHENJO-DARO (See p. 1 83)

1 . SQUIRREL IN FAIENCE 3. BEAD CARVED WITH THREE MONKEYS

2. GLAZED FIGURE OF MONKEY 4-6. BRONZE DANCING GIRL

PLATE VI —STATUARY (See p. 184)

PLATE VII

Courtesy: Archaeological Sut'vey of India

SEALS, MOHENJO-DARO (See p. 186, 190f)

1-3. UNICORN WITH A STANDARD 4. SIVA PASUPATI. 5-6 SEALS DEPICTING SIVA

7. HORNED ARCHER 8. TRISULA-HORNED DEITY

PLATE VIII

1. FRACTIONAL BURIAL, MOHENJO-DARO (See p, 193)

Courtesy: Archaeological Survey of India

2. MODEL ANIMAL (HORSE), MOHENJO-DARO (Seep. 198)

THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

tan character of the population in a place like Mohenjo-daro with easy
land and water communications is quite natural. It was evidently
the meeting ground of the people from different parts of Asia. Sculp¬
tural representations also speak of the mingling of diverse races.

Only a country capable of producing food on a large scale, and
the presence of a river sufficiently large to facilitate transport, irri¬
gation, and trade, can give rise to cities of this size. The large num¬
ber or saddle querns found in the excavations indicates cultivation
on an extensive scale. Though little is yet known about the actual
methods of agriculture adopted by the people, the examination of
the specimens of wheat and barley found in the ruins shows that
they were not of the wild species. The same variety of wheat is
cultivated in the Punjab today. The unit of weight indicates that
rice was also grown.4 The date palm was also an article of diet as
is shown by the stones found.

Besides wheat, barley, and rice, milk, too, must have been an
important item of food, and doubtless vegetables and other fruits
besides the date were included in the dietary. Harappa cultivated
peas and sesamums.4* In addition, animal food was eaten, includ¬
ing beef, mutton, pork, poultry, the flesh of the gharial , turtle and
tortoise, fresh-river fish and dried fish from the sea, and also sheil
fish. The half-burnt shells and bones of these animals found in
houses, lanes, and streets definitely indicate that they were articles
of diet.

Animals were both domesticated and wild. Actual skeletal
remains of the Indian humped bull, the buffalo, the sheep, the
elephant, the pig, and the camel have been recovered. The Indian
humped ox, or “Brahman! bull,” is frequently represented on the
seals. It seems to have been a sacred animal, as it is today. Bones
of the horse have also been found, but not far below the surface.
There is some difference of opinion on the subject, but on the grounds
to be subsequently stated, it seems reasonable to suppose that horse
was known to the Indus people. The cow was known, and so pro¬
bably was the lion. Clay models of toys indicate that the Indian
bison, the rhinoceros, the tiger, the monkey, the dog, the bear, and
the hare were known to the inhabitants. The donkey was known,
and -among smaller animals may be included the mongoose, the
squirrel, the parrot, the peacock, and the domestic fowl. Harappa
knew of the domestic cat.

As regards dress, no actual specimens of ancient clothing have
been discovered and we have to depend on the indications supplied
by figurines and statuary. One alabaster statue shows that two
garments were worn. A shawl-like cloth, worn over the left shoulder
and under the right arm so as to leave the right arm free, formed
the upper garment. The lower garment resembled modern dhoti
and was worn quite close to the body. Female attire did not differ

177

THE VEDIC AGE

from that of the male. Garments were of cotton and perhaps of
wool, and possibly they were sewn, as would appear from the needles
found at the site.

With regard to the various fashions of hair-dressing, we know
more about male styles because the head-dresses worn by the female
figurines prevent the hair from being seen. It is likely that women
had a plait tied with a bow at the end, a favourite way of dressing
the hair in modern India. Men wore long hair; this was either
parted in the middle and the short locks at the back kept tidy by a
woven fillet; or -was coiled in a ring on the top of the head, similar
side rings concealing the ears, or were carried in a mass to the back;
or a plaited lock was carried forward from behind in a large loup
which turned in again and was secured by a fillet. Short hair was
secured by means of a fillet or was coded in a knot with hair pins.
These fillets were made mostly of gold, silver or copper. Men grew
short beards or close-cropped them along with the upper lip, which
was sometimes clean shaven.

With the traditional oriental fondness for ornaments, men and
women, both rich and poor, decorated themselves with them and
all known semi-precious stones and metals were utilized for manu¬
facturing various ornaments. Women wore a fan-shaped head¬
dress. Small cones of gold, silver, copper, and faience, as also of
shell, were worn on the sides of the head. The forehead was deco¬
rated with a fillet or a headband. Ear-rings were made of coils of
gold, silver, copper, or faience. It is doubtful whether any nose-
ornaments were used. There was a variety of necklaces having
pendants in the middle with a number of rows of beads of various
shapes and materials artistically arranged using spacers and termi¬
nals. Finger-rings were plentiful, and bangles and bracelets were
commonly used. Materials for bangles and bracelets were gold,
silver, copper, bronze, faience, shell, and pottery. Gold and silver
bangles were penannular in shape with their hollows filled with a
fibrous or a lac core. A bracelet with six strings of globular beads
is an excellent specimen of workmanship. Girdles, of which two
fine specimens have been found, were worn round the waist. Ank¬
lets of the type still used by hill women round the Simla Hills were
worn. Various stones such as carnelian, steatite, agate, chalcedony,
jasper, etc., were pressed into service in the manufacture of beads
which evince fine workmanship and technical skill on the part of
the lapidary. Of the various ornaments mentioned above, men
wore fillets, necklaces, finger-rings, and armlets. A yellow steatite
pectoral was probably the insignia of office of a priest.

We can also form some idea about the toilet and cosmetics of
the people. The “vanity case” found at Harappa, with its combi¬
nation of piercer, ear-scoop, and tweezers, invites comparison with
similar finds from Ur, Kish and Khafaje, both types showing the

178

THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

same peculiar construction of the looped head. Toilet jars were
made of ivory, metal, pottery, and stone. Small faience vessels
having four compartments were used for keeping expensive per¬
fumes or cosmetics. It appears that the ladies at Mohenjo-daro
knew of the use of collyrium, face-paint, and other cosmetics. Small
cockle shells containing a red ochre rouge, lumps of green earth,
white face-paint and black beauty-substance show that the belles
in ancient Sind attended to beauty and toilet culture. It is interest¬
ing to note that Chanhu-daro finds indicate the use of lip-sticks.6
Carbonate of lead, a face-paint, may also have been employed as an
eye-ointment or hair-wash. Round metal rods in copper and bronze,
with both ends rounded and polished, were probably used for ap¬
plying cosmetics. There were small toilet tables specially designed
for women. Other articles on the dressing-table included mirrors,
made of bronze, oval in shape, and combs of different shapes made
of ivory. Some combs were probably worn in the hair. Razors of
various types, made of bronze, served for the toilet of the male.

Various household articles have been found at Mohenjo-daro.
These were made of pottery, stone, shell, faience, ivory, and metal.
Copper and bronze appear to have replaced stone as the material
for household implements. Pottery supplied for the kitchen nume¬
rous articles including flesh-rubbers, cake-moulds, dippers, beakers,
bowls, goblets, dishes, basins, pans, saucers, ladles, heaters, jar
stands, storage jars, etc. Goblets with pointed bases were the custo¬
mary drinking vessels, which were possibly to be used only once.
Querns, palettes, and jar stands figure among articles of stone. Jar
covers and ladles were also made of shell. There were needles, awls,
axes, saws, sickles, knives, fish hooks, chisels, etc . , made of bronze or
copper, the first two also in ivory. Blocks of lead were probably
used as net-sinkers.

Chairs, bedsteads, and stools were used to decorate the draw¬
ing room. Possibly there were wooden beds like charpais, and stools
were made of wicker work and mats of reeds. There were lamps
of copper, shell, and pottery. A pottery candlestick found in the
ruins indicates that candles, probably made of wax or tallow with
wicks of cotton, played their part in illuminating the houses at
Mohenjo-daro.

Marbles, balls, and dice were used for games. Marbles were
used as playthings both in Sumer and Egypt. That dicing was a
common pastime just as it was in Vedic times is indicated by the
large number of dice unearthed. Both cubical and tabular speci¬
mens are found, the latter being the commoner. Unlike the oblong
pieces in common use in India at present, they are usually cubic in
shape like the European dice; but the arrangement of numbers
differs from the European system (where the sum of points on any
two opposite sides amounts to 7), 1 being opposite to 2, 3 to 4, and

179

THE VEDIC AGE

5 to 6. The tabular dice, invariably made of ivory; have three sides
marked with numbers 1, 2, 3 and the remaining side is decorated
with longitudinal lines. Of the seven pieces found at Harappa,
four bear markings like those of Mohenjo-daro; on two are marked
1 opposite to 2t 3 to 4, and 5 to 6; and one has markings like the
modern dice (i.e., 1 opposite to 6, 2 to 5, and 3 to 4). Thus there
were three different ways of marking dice in the Indus Valley. It
is not certain whether the throwing of dice constituted a game in
itself. Possibly dice were used in conjunction with board games,
as two incomplete specimens of game boards of brick have been
found. Some flat models of fish in ivory appear to have been used
in some game.

Some representations on amulet seals showing men shooting a
wild goat a$d a large antelope with bows and arrows, and the re¬
mains of large antlers of deer and stags indicate that hunting was
indulged in. Bull fighting was probably another pastime. There
are indications to show that birds were kept as pets, and also for
fighting. A certain amount of trapping was also carried on, and
fishing WcK a regular occupation. Clay modelling appears to have
been a favourite pastime with children, as is. indicated by the large
number of crude specimens of childish workmanship.

Specimens of toys are various, interesting, and ingenious. Little
clay carts appear to have been the favourite toy with children as
would appear from the large number found. Pottery rams, with
the fleece indicated by lines of red paint and mounted on two wheels
with a hole through the neck for a draw-string were common play¬
things. The toy carts are particularly interesting as being among
the earliest representatives of wheeled vehicles known to us. Usually
toys were clay models of men, women, and animals, whistles, rattles,
etc. There were also toy birds provided with stock legs, small
animals climbing up a pole, and figures with movable arms. The
bull with a nodding head worked by a stiff fibre, and a monkey¬
like animal with movable arms figure among the more ingenious
toys. Complex toys like figures moving up and down a string whose
progress could be accelerated by manipulating a cord were also
manufactured.

Bullock-carts were the chief means of conveyance. In addi¬
tion to models of carts found at Mohenjo-daro similar to the farm
carts in common use at present in Sind and the Punjab, a copper
specimen has been found at Harappa, which looks like an ekka of
the present day, with a canopy for protection from the sun and
rain. It thus appears that the ancients also used the same type
of the bullock cart as is found in modern Sind, which was probably
drawn by two animals yoked to a pole. Bullock carls with a gabled
roof over a wooden frame were also in use.

Weights have been found in large numbers, and range from

180

THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

large specimens which had to be lifted with a rope to very small
ones used by jewellers. Cubical weights seem to be by far the
most common. Some small weights of dark grey slate resemble
the barrel-shaped weights of Elam and Mesopotamia, and are more
accurate and consistent than those of Susa and Iraq. The sequence
of ratios is binary in the case of the smaller weights as at Susa, and
decimal in the case of larger ones. There is no evidence of a sexa¬
gesimal system. The unit weight has the calculated value of .8750
gms, the largest weight being 10970 gms. The most frequently
discovered weight is one of 13.64 gms. which stands in the ratio
of 16 to the standard unit of weight indicating the dominance of the
number 16 in Indian culture.6 It appears that a strict control was
exercised over the maintenance of the proper standard of weight.
The poor used ordinary pebbles as weights.

The few specimens of scales used with the weights appear to
be of a very ordinary pattern^ consisting of a bronze bar with sus¬
pended copper pans. Heavy weights must have required much
larger beams, which were most probably made of wood. There is
no evidence that the steelyard was known.

It is more difficult to form an idea of the measurement of length.
A slip of shell, 6.62 inches long, which now preserves nine definite
divisions each averaging 0 . 264 inches, has been taken by Dr. Mackay
to be part of a linear measure. As groups of five appear to bear
special marks, it seems that the decimal system was known, the
measure indicating a decimal scale of 1.32 inches rising probably
to a foot of 13 . 2 inches. Egypt was familiar with the decimal system
of linear measure since the Fourth Dynasty, and a purely decimal
system is found on Proto-Elamite tablets. Early Sumer used both
the decimal and the sexagesimal systems. Probably the decimal
system originated independently in the Indus Valley. Harappa
ruins have yielded a fragmentary measure, a bronze rod, 1 . 5 inches
long, broken at both ends, bearing four complete divisions accurate¬
ly marked. It seems to have been based on the standard cubit of
20.62 inches which was widely used in the ancient world. Thus,
the Mohenjo-daro and Harappa measures indicate that both the foot
and cubit systems were current simultaneously in the Indus Valley.

Of the medicines used by the people we know but little. Pieces
of a coal-black substance forming a dark-brown solution of water
have been identified with gilajit, which is known to be a specific for
dyspepsia, diabetes, diseases of the liver, rheumatism, etc. Several
cuttle fish bones have been found stored in pottery. Cuttle bone
is internally used as an appetiser, and externally in diseases of ear,
eye, throat, and skin. The horns of the deer and antelope (and possibly
also of the rhinoceros) were valued for their medicinal qualities.
Coral and leaves of the nim tree (azadirachta indica) were possibly
used as medicines. All these specifics are still prescribed in ayur-

181

V.A.— -12

THE VEDIC AGE

vedic medicine, and thus the origin of the indigenous medicinal
system of India may be traced to the Indus Valley Civilization.

Abundant specimens of weapons, tools, and implements have
been discovered. Weapons of war or the chase were axes, spears,
daggers, bows, arrows, maces> slings, perhaps catapults, and swords,
made generally of copper or bronze. Blade axes resemble the early
specimens found at Susa. Spear heads are thin and broad, without
the strengthening mid rib, and with a tang instead of a socket. The
daggers and knives are generally long and leaf -shaped, some with a
single edge and others with two. Arrow heads are thin, flat pieces
of copper with long narrow barbs and no tang. Maces were made of
alabaster, sandstone, limestone, or hard green-coloured stone, and the
pear-shaped mace, resembling the specimens from Elam, Mesopota¬
mia, and Egypt, was most common. Swords are considerably
thickened in the middle, but have blunt points suggesting, that they
were not used for thrusting. A kind of scale armour prepared from
thin domed pieces of copper perforated with two minute holes was
worn as for protection, and the shield was probably used for defen¬
sive purposes.

Lance heads, chisels, celts, axes, adzes, and saws figure among
the tools and implements. Axes are either long and narrow or
short and broad: the latter being probably used for cutting wood.
A single 'specimen of a socketed bronze adze-axe is known, which
can be compared to some finds in the Caucasus region. The cutting
edge of the saw is semi-circular in shape and the toothed edge is
wavy. Toothed saws were unknown among other peoples of anti¬
quity-

The people of Mohenjo-daro maintained close contact with the
outside world. For the import of various metals, precious stones,
and other articles the Indus Valley had connections with Southern
and Eastern India, Kashmir, Mysore, and the Nilgiri Hills, as also
with the countries immediately to the West and Central Asia (see
below, p. 188). Evidence as to relations with Sumer is overwhelm¬
ing, and trade contacts were maintained v/ith Egypt and Crete. The
representation on a seal of a mastless ship, with a central cabin
and a steersman seated at the rudder, indicates that the people of
the Indus Valley were acquainted with maritime vessels. The boat
has a sharply up-turned- prow and stern similar to the archaic re¬
presentations on Early Minoan seals, cylinders of Sumer, and the
Pre-Dynastic pottery of Egypt. Dr. Mackay thinks that the Indus
Valley was in touch with Sumer and Elam by the sea route also.
Mohenjo-daro thus appears to have been a great inland port carry¬
ing on trade with Ur and Kish, probably also with Egypt.

The remains unearthed at Mohenjo-daro demonstrate the exis¬
tence of different sections of people who may be grouped into four
main classes, the learned class, warriors, traders and artishns, and

182

THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

finally manual labourers, corresponding roughly to the four Vamia&
of the Vedic period.7 The learned class probably comprised priests
and physicians, astrologers, and sorcerers. According to archaeo¬
logists there is practically no vestige of the fighting classes; but the
existence of “palaces” with ancient foundations, of substantial swords
showing that some of the people were well armed, of watchmen’s
quarters at Mohenjo-daro, and of ancient fort walls at other sites
in Sind, points to a class similar to the Kshatriyas, whose duty was
to protect the people. A commercial class and various artisans
such as the mason, engraver, shell-worker, weaver, gold-smith, etc.,
formed the third class. Domestic servants and manual labourers
like leather-workers basket-makers, peasants, fishermen, etc., be¬
longed to the last class.

3. ARTS, CRAFTS, AND INDUSTRIES •

There is very little sign of art for art’s sake in the Indus Valley.
There is no trace of ornamentation in houses and public buildings.
Tools, weapons, vessels, etc., are quite plain and practical, but lack
subtle, grace. Even the painted pottery has commonplace designs.
Specimens of art are to be sought only in figurines, seals* amulets,
and other small objects. All figurines are well baked, and some
of them are painted in red. The majority of human figures are
female, and they are nude except for a narrow girdle round the loins.
Animal figures are found in large numbers in pottery; the squirrel
and monkeys are made in faience, and a turtle in shell. The short¬
horned bull is realistically portrayed as on the seals. The mastiff
cut from steatite is quite life-like and resembles the English mastiff
of today. The small carvings, presumably used as amulets, are most
charming: notably little squirrels in faience (PL V. 1) not a couple
of inches high, sitting up with tails erect and munching something
from beneath their fore-paws; little monkeys (PI. V. 2) with a
worried expression, almost identical to what is so noticeable on the
faces of their descendants today; and perhaps most delightful of all,
a bead carved with three monkeys (PI- V. 3) sitting round in a
circle, clasping one another’s waists with their arms. The exqui¬
site bronze figure of an aboriginal dancing girl (PI. V. 4-6) with her
hand on the hip, in an almost impudent posture, is a noteworthy
object. Her hands and legs are disproportionately long and she
wears bracelets right up to the shoulder. The legs are put slightly
forward with the feet beating time to the music. “Though more
impressionistic in style than the stone sculptures, this figure, which
is cast in one piece, astonishes one by the ease and naturalness of its
posture.”8

Of the seal engravings the best are those of such animals as
the humped bull, the buffalo, and the bison, which the artist had an
opportunity of studying at first hand. The humped bull is frankly

183

THE VEDIC AGE

realistic and spirited, and in its portrayal the artist has tempered
realism with breadth of treatment and restraint. The buffalo is
very effectively shown with a slightly raised head, displaying its
great horns in the act pf bellowing. The bison with powerful
arched shoulders and relatively small hind quarters is quite lifelike.
The blue faience tablet, depicting a deity seated cross-legged on a
throne with a kneeling devotee on either side and a snake behind;
“serves well to illustrate how instructive and illuminating a back¬
ground this new-found prehistoric art of India is likely to supply
to the later art of historic India.’ ' The best of the engraved seals
are master-pieces of the engraver’s art, as vivid in their drawing as
they are Skilful in execution, which could only have been turned
out by people possessed of marked artistic ability and great techni¬
cal skill.

Statuary is rare, only a few specimens being found. Statues
were cut from comparatively soft stones, grey and yellow limestone,
alabaster, and steatite. A steatite male head looks like an attempt
at portraiture (PI. VI.- 3)* The figure is draped in a shawl, decorat¬
ed with trefoil patterns, which is worn over the left shoulder and
under the right arm. The eyes are long, and half closed in a yoga
attitude. The nose is well formed and of medium size; the mouth
is of average size with close-cut moustache and xa short beard and
whiskers; the ears resemble double shells with a hole in the middle.
The hair is parted in the middle, and a plain woven fillet is passed
round the head. An armlet is worn on the right hand and holes
round the neck suggest a necklace. The noticeable features in all
statues are the prominent cheek-bones, the thick, short, sturdy neck,
and narrow oblique eyes, in contrast to the Sumerian statues,, which
have round and full eyes, and full, fleshy lips. The heads are bra-
chycephalic, dolichocephalic and mesaticranial.

Two statuettes from Harappa have revolutionized the current
ideas about early Indian art (PI. VI. 1, 2). In both, there are socket
holes in the neck and shoulders for the attachment of head and
arms, made in separate pieces in the red-stone torso, the frontal
pose is adopted, the shoulders are well backed, and the abdomen
slightly prominent. In the opinion of eminent art critics, for pure
simplicity and feeling nothing to compare with this masterpiece
was produced until the great age of Hellas. The other statuette
represents a dancer standing on the right leg with the left leg raised
in front, the body above the waist and both arms bent round to the
left. The pose is full of movement. The neck is abnormally
thick; possibly it may represent §iva Nataraja, or the head may
have been that of an animal. The anatomical faithfulness in these
statuettes is striking. Specimens of art in lapidary work are
found in the remarkably well-made stone beads specially those
of clear and clouded agate, red translucent carnelinn. etc. An in-

184

THE 1NDU$ VALLEY CIVILIZATION

stance of the considerable skill exhibited in the manufacture of
stone beads is one that was made of five segments of chalcedony
and deep red camelian', which were cemented together to imitate
a bead cut out of a piece of regularly veined stone.

From the discovery of many spindles and spindle whorls in the
houses in the Indus Valley it is evident that spinning of cotton and
wool was very common. That both the rich and poor practised
spinning is indicated by the whorls being made of the expensive
faience as also of the cheap pottery and shell. No textiles of any
description have been preserved in the Indus Valley. owing to the
nature of the soil. A close and exhaustive examination, in the
Technological Laboratory, of the pieces of cotton which were found
attached to a silver vase, shows the specimen to be a variety of the
coarser Indian cotton, cultivated in upper India today, and not of
the wild species. Some more specimens of woven material adhering
to various copper objects have also been found to be mostly cotton,
but some were bast fibres. There is no indication from the ruins
as to the existence of flax, which is largely grown in India at present
and was known in ancient Elam and Egypt. The purple dye on a
piece of cotton has been taken to have been produced from the
madder plant. Dyers’ vats found on the site indicate that dyeing
was practised.

The Indus Valley pottery consists chiefly of very fine wheel-
made wares, plain pottery being more common than the painted
ware or ware with designs. In marked contrast to the delicate
thinness of much of the Iranian and Mesopotamian wares, the Indus
Valley pottery is heavy and utilitarian.

The clay used was the alluvium from the Indus, tempered with
sand generally containing fine particles of mica or lime. Most of
the specimens are wheel-turned, very few being hand-made. Pot¬
tery, brick, and terracotta were fired in kilns which were circular
in shape with arrangements for heating underneath a floor provided
with flues.

The plain ware is usually of red clay, with or without a fine
red or grey “slip.” It includes knobbed ware which is a curious
type ornamented with rows of knobs. Imported Indian vases of
this type have been found at Tell Asmar. The black-painted ware
has a fine coating of red slip on which geometric and animal designs
are executed in glossy black paint. Polychrome pottery is rare and
mainly comprised of small vases decorated with geometric patterns
in red, black, and green, rarely white and yellow.

Incised ware also is rare and the incised decoration was con¬
fined to the bases of the pans, always inside, and to the dishes of
offering stands. Egg-shell pottery, locally known as Kagzi, is of
exquisitely delicate workmanship and is absent in Susa and Baby¬
lon. Perforated pottery has a large hole at the bottom and small

185

THE VEDIC AGE

holes all over the wall, and was probably used for straining liquor.

Pottery for household purposes is found in as many shapes and
sizes as could be conceived for daily practical use. Straight and
angular shapes are the exception, and graceful curves the rule,
with the Indus Valley pottery. Miniature vessels, mostly less than
half an inch in height, are particularly so marvellously executed
as to evoke the admiration of visitors.

Shanhu-daro appears to have been a manufacturing centre of
toys, judging from the large number unearthed there. Pottery
rattles, gaily decorated, and model pottery carts in various shapes
with humped oxen are exceedingly common. Pottery rattles are so
substantially made that hardly a broken specimen is found. There
is a wide variety in the types of toy cart.

Seals discovered in the various strata constitute one of the
most interesting features of the finds. Hitherto over 2,000 seals have
been' recovered from the various sites. . Steatite, faience, ivory, and
pottery are the materials used for manufacturing seals.

Stamped seals were Invariably made of steatite, which came
from Aravalli. Steatite was cut into shape with a saw, after which
the boss was cut. The boss was then rounded off after the groove
by a knife and finished off with an abrasive. The designs appear
to have been cut by a burin. The body was first carved before out¬
lining other parts. Inscriptions were added later. Almost all
seals were coated with a smooth glossy glaze. Steatite was hardened
by heating.

Seals are of various sizes and shapes, the most popular shape
being square or oblong, with a pierced hump at the back for sus¬
pension, and a flat face decorated with exquisite designs, generally
of animals, and with inscriptions in a pictographic script. The in¬
scriptions on the seals, however, do not seem to have any connection
with the figures on them, as the same animal figure is found in com¬
pany with completely different inscriptions. The Sv&stika design,
which is found in Crete, Cappadocia, Troy, Susa, Musyan, etc., but
not in Babylonia or Egypt, appears on particular types of seals and
indicates their religious use or significance. Though cylinder seals
were universally used in Sumer, only three specimens have so far
been found in the Indus Valley, -having purely Indian devices.

A number of small steatite tablets recovered from the lowest
levels at Harappa, having almost identical legends, are considered
as receipts by Dr. Hunter,9

There are square or rectangular copper tablets, with an animal
or human figure on one side and an inscription on the other, or an
inscription on both sides. The figures and signs are carefully cut
with a burin. These copper tablets appear to have been amulets.10
Unlike inscriptions on seals which vary in each case, inscriptions on

THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

copper tablets seem to be associated with the animals portrayed
on them.

It has generally been assumed that the designs on the Indus
Valley seals, like those on the cylinder seals of Babylonia, were of
a religious character and showed that the people were animal-wor-
shippers. The commonest animal appears to be the so-called uni¬
corn or antelope, resembling a bull, but without a hump, and a
single protruding horn shown in profile. In front of the unicorn
is placed a curious object, the lower portion of which is a bowl-like
receptacle, with an upper part resembling a cage. Probably both
the animal and the object have a ceremonial significance connected
with the principal deity of Mohenjo-daro. The other animals are
the short-horned bull, the Brahmani bull, the elephant, the tiger,
the rhinoceros, the ghavial . and the antelope. A flat-bottomed low
manger or trough appears on some seals, and it is seen only before
wild animals. The short-horned bull, the buffalo, and the rhino¬
ceros are very carefully and realistically portrayed. The tiger
with an open mouth and protruding tongue sometimes gazes at a
tree on whose branches a man is perched. Alongside there appear
mythological creatures and composite animals, such as human figures
with, bull’s ears, horns, hoof, and tail; or a horned tiger; or a urus-
like animal with additional heads of antelope and short-horned bull;
or a most fantastic abortion, a curious human-faced animal partak¬
ing of the characteristics of a goat, a bull, a tiger, and an elephant.
One circular seal shows six animal heads radiating from a boss.

The uses to which seals were put at Mohenjo-daro are uncertain
•and have been the subject-matter of various conjectures. The
large variations in the inscriptions speak against their use as money.
Reversed writing on 99 per cent of these objects becomes inexpli¬
cable if they are taken as amulets, and the projecting boss at the
back disproves their use for this purpos e. Their use in other coun¬
tries indicates that they were stamped on some plastic materia!
like clay in order to authenticate property or seal the mouths of
jars or doors. Owing to their fragile nature, actual clay impressions
have been found of only a few specimens. Terra-cotta sealings
were probably used for some specific purpose. Their large number
and the fact that they have been found in the houses of the rich
and poor alike indicate that the inhabitants attached great import¬
ance to them, and probably every citizen carried one on his person.
The attempts in some seals to replace the legend after cutting it
indicate that after the death of the original owner of the seal, it was
taken by another by making appropriate changes in the inscription.1 1

Among semi-precious stones used for ornament, amazon and
amethyst came from the south, and laois lazuli, turquoise, and
jadeite from the west. Rainutana and Kathiawar supplied plasma,
agate, jasper, and blood-stone. All these were used for manufactur-

187

THE VEDIC AGE

ing beads, regard being paid to their colour-scheme, size, and mark¬
ings. Great technical skill is displayed in the manufacture of beads.
The holes in the carnelian beads are well polished and testify to
the great skill in boring such hard stones. Some unfinished beads
of agate show that they were shaped and smoothed before being
bored, for the translucency of the polished stone helped the lapidary
in drilling straight. The accuracy of chert weights shows that the
people were proficient in the working of flint, agate, gneiss, and
other hard stones.

The gold used in the Indus Valley appears to have come from
the gold mines at Kolar and in the Anantapur district. Different
kinds of beads of gold were variously made by soldering cup-like
pieces together or by casting or by beating out and soldering together.
Bangles were made of thin sheets of gold with the metal slightly
overlapping on the inside. Afghanistan, Armenia, and Persia range
among the probable sources of silver. Large globular silver beads
were cast or beaten out. Ear-rings were made of silver wire roughly
bent round. Silver bracelets were made on core like gold bracelets.
Copper and bronze are found side by side to the lowest levels at
Mohenjo-daro. Copper may have come from Rajputana, Balu¬
chistan or Madras. The use of bronze indicates a great advance
over contemporary civilizations in metal-working. Though thus
superior to the Sumerians in possessing the secret of smelting bronze.
Indian metal-workers could not rival the beauty and delicacy of
the gold and copper objects from Ur. Copper vessels were raised
from sheet metal: those of bronze were cast by the cire perdue
process. Eyes of needles and awls were formed either by drilling
holes close together and then breaking the intervening material,
or by bending the head over' as in some pre-Sargonic needles at
Kish. Copper and bronze finger-rings were generally made of coiled
wire. Lead was extensively mined in ancient India, and Ajmer
may have supplied lead to the Indus Valley. It is significant that
the people of the Indus Valley were not conversant with the me¬
tallurgy of iron. *

Shell is extensively used especially in the making of ornaments
and pieces of inlay. Most of the shell might ha-ste come from places
along the coast of India and the Persian Gulf. Mussel shell was also
fairly common and was probably used as a spoon. Oliva was worn
as an ornament and had some magic value attached rto it. Cockle
shells were probably used, as in earlv Sumer, to hold cosmetics.
Mother of pearl is conspicuous by its absence, while it was used by
the Sumerians for inlay. Shell was apparent! v available in large
nuantities. The manufacturers experienced great difficulties in cut¬
ting shell. Columella was first hollowed out bv means of a saw
and a hammer, and the tubular niece remaining was sawn into
bracelets. Beads of different shares and pieces for inlay work

18?

THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

were made out of the columella , and the whole of the shell was
utilized. The comparative paucity of ivory objects may possibly
be due to the sanctity attached to elephants. The wild elephant,
which is totally extinct in North-Western India at present, probably

roamed in 'Sind and the Puniab in the third millennium B.C. At

> . &

that period the climate of the Indus valley, if we may judge by the
flora and fauna, resembled that of the Ganges delta today. Though no
true glass has yet been unearthed, the art of glazing appears to have
been practised. Vitrified paste and faience were used for glazed
work. Faience was extensively manufactured in the Indus Valley
and is found at all levels. Ordinary articles of faience are composed
of a white or a greyish paste, granular in appearance, coated with a
glaze, which has now faded to a light blue or green. Great skill
in glazing is exhibited in a pottery bead covered by two coloured
glazes, brown and white, which was first taken to have been made
of glass.

4. RELIGION

No buildings have so far been discovered in the Indus Valley
which may be definitely regarded as temples, and even those doubt¬
fully classed as such have yielded no, religious relics. There are no
shrines, altars, or any definite cult objects. It is indeed curious that
the Indus finds do not include any positive religious material, for
religion has always played a dominant part in ancient cultures,
and especially in India, where it was the prime factor moulding
the lives of people for ages. All that we have to rely on for re¬
constructing the religion of the people is the testimony of the seals,
sealings, figurines, stone images, etc. In spite of the meagreness
of the material the light it throws on ancient religion is invaluable.
Here we can only refer to a few leading ideas.

The first in point of importance is the cult of the Mother God¬
dess. A number of figurines of terra-cotta, faience, etc., portray a
standing and semi-nude female figure, wearing a girdle or band
round her loins, with elaborate head-dress and collar, occasionally
with ornamental cheek cones and necklace; sometimes the ear-
ornaments are like caps suspended on either side of the head. Some
of the figures are smoke-stained, and it is possible that oil, or per¬
haps incense, was burnt before them in order that the goddess might
hearken favourably to a petition.12 Figurines similar to those in
the Indus Valley have been discovered in many countries in Western
Asia between Persia and the Aegean, and also round wayside trees
and village shrines in South India. These figures are rightly taken
to represent the Mother or Nature Goddess. There is* no reason
to believe that the cult of the Mother Goddess originated in Anatolia
or any other particular country because the concepts of the mother¬
hood of God and of the divinity of Nature are quite common among

189

THE VEDIC AGE

the primitive peoples Of the world, and -are wide-spread and deep-
rooted in India.12* The Mother Goddess is represented in every
village as the tutelary deity (grama devatd) and is known under
various names, such as Mata, Amba, Amma, Kali, Karali, etc.f some¬
times to be dreaded, sometimes warding off evil spirits, imparting
fertility, etc. It may be mentioned that the Rigveda refers to
Pfithvi and Aditi which are akin to the Mother Goddess.

An interesting sealing from Harappa shows a nude female
figure, turned upside down, with out-spread legs and a plant issuing
from the womb. The reverse side has a man with a sickle-shaped
knife in hand and a woman seated on the ground with hands raised
in supplication. Obviously this depicts a human sacrifice to the
Earth Goddess, portrayed on the obverse with two genii. A similar
figure of the Gupta Age has been discovered in the United Provinces
with a lotus issuing out of the neck of the goddess. Perhaps the
sealing represents a river gushing out of the goddess’s womb.13
The representation of a figure standing in the bifurcated branch of a
pxpal tree also appears to depict the Mother Goddess. To this god¬
dess the worshipper brings a goat, probably for sacrifice, and a
number of people standing in the lower register seem to be taking
part in the sacrifice. The Pipal tree is still held to be sacred in
India, but not associated with the cult of the Mother Goddess. The
goat sacrifice has survived in the worship of Sakti, another form of
the Mother Goddess, in which the sacrifice of animals is the most
characteristic feature. It is still uncertain whether the female deity
represented by pottery figurines was regarded as a virgin goddess or
as the consort of the male god on the seal amulets.

Among the male gods the most remarkable is a three-faced deity
wearing a horned head-dress, seated cross-legged on a throne, with
pevis erectus. and surrounded by elephant, tiger, buffalo, and rhino¬
ceros, witli deer appearing under the seat. It wears a number of
bangles and has a pectoral round the neck, and an inscription of
seven letters appears at the top (PI. .VII. 4). This representation
has at least three concepts which are usually associated with Siva
viz., that he is (i) trim.n'kha (three-faced), (ii) pasupati (lord of
animals), and (iii) YoaHrara or Mdhdyoqx. The first two aspects

are apparent from the sea 1 itself. The deity is sitting cross-legged
in a padmdsana posture with eyes turned towards the tip of the.

1 * a

nose which evidences the Yogisvara aspect of the deitv. It has been

suggested by some scholars14 that this Siva-cult was borrowed bv

• • • • ••

the Tndo-Arvans from the Indus culture but as there is a reference
to Siva in the Riqveda itself.14® Siva may not be a later intruder in
the Hindu pantheon.

Two more seals of Siva have been found in the course of further
excavations (PI. VII. 5. 6). The deity is always nude save for a
cincture round the waist, and has a horned head-dress. In one seal

190

THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

the deity is three-faced and seated on a low dais, while the second
has one face in profile; both have a sprig of flowers or leaves rising
from the head between the horns. This sprig suggests that the
deity so ornamented is a vegetation or fertility god — another link
with Siva, who personifies the reproductive powers of nature, A
horned archer dressed in a costume of leaves (PI. VII. 7) displays
the divine hunter aspect of Siva.

It thus appears that Siva was one of the principal deities of the
people along with the Mother Goddess. His worship was, however,
not merely iconic, but also phallic, as would appear from the pre¬
sence of a large number of conical and cylindrical stones.
These conical and cylindrical stones probably symbolize fertility,
and are connected with the cult of Siva as Li'hgas. Many scholars
find a contemptuous reference in the Rigveda to phallus worship
and regard it as a veiled allusion to the religious customs of the
pre-Aryan people of the Indus Valley, but it has been suggested by
others that the passage in question simply alludes to sensuous or
lustful • persons. 1 6

Small ring stones suggest that the worship of the Yoni , the
female symbol of generation, was also prevalent though not to such
an extent as' Linga worship. It is, however, possible to take the
group of ring stones as pedestals or bases of pillars. Hence until
the linga and one of the ring stones are found in close association,
the question of the prevalence of phallic worship cannot be definitely
settled. The Vedic religion, it may be observed, was originally •
aniconic, the worship of icons arising at a later stage.

That animal worship or zoolatry formed part of the religious
beliefs of the people is indicated by the representations of animals
on seals and sealings, or in terra-cotta, faience, and stone figurines.
The animals fall into three groups: (i) mythical animals, e.g. a
semi-human, semi-bovine creature, attacking a homed tiger re¬
sembling Eabani or Enkidu in Sumerian mythology; or, complex
animals, with the heads of different animals attached to a central
boss, which may possibly be an attempt to bring together the repre¬
sentations of various deities; (ii) ambiguous animals, which are not
completely mythical, like the strange unicorn, accompanied with
manger or incense-burner; or animals figuring as officiant genii.
The frequency with which the unicorn appears has been taken to
indicate that it was the tutelary deity of the city. Lastly there are
(iii) actual animals, including the rhinoceros, the bison, the tiger,
the elephant, the buffalo, the humped bull or zebra, the short-horned
bull. etc. The feeding troughs which appear before some of these
have been taken as symbolizing food offerings to beasts which could
not be domesticated, indicating the animals as objects of worship.
Some of these animals were regarded as the vdhana or vehicles of
the gods. The bull, for instance, is closely associated with Siva.

101

THE VEDIC AGE

It may be suggested that the limestone statues of animals resting on
rectangular plinths represent gods in their animal form. Possibly
the unicorn has some connection with the boar incarnation of Vishnu,
which is said to be eka-sfinga (one-homed).

Apart from their use as pictographic signs, no birds appear on
seals or other amulets. It seems, however, that the dove was looked
upon as sacred, as some of the pottery models on little pedestals
exactly resemble those found at very early sites in Mesopotamia,
where the dove was regarded as sacred to the Mother Goddess.

The worship of tree, fire, and water also seems to have been in
vogue. The existence of tree worship is evidenced by the represen¬
tations on several seals and sealings. The most interesting of these
depicts the tri&ula- horned deity standing nude, with long hair, be¬
tween two branches of a tree with the half-kneeling figure of a wor¬
shipper with long hair, armlets, and horns, behind whom is a com¬
posite animal; in the lower register appear seven standing figures,
with dresses down to the knees, in procession (PI. No. VH. 8). The
leaves of the tree appear like those of the pipai: Some sealings
from Harappa show trees enclosed by a wall or a railing. It cannot
at present be stated definitely whether tree worship pertained to
trees in their natural state or to their indwelling spirits.

Rectangular aisles, separated from each other by long walls,

suggest the Vedic sacrificial altar of a rectangular shape ( agnisdld
paved with bricks), in which offerings were made to Fire and other
gods.16

Though no direct evidence has been found to river worship, the
important part played by water in the daily life of the Indus people,
as indicated by the elaborate arrangements for bathing and the
Great Bath, seems to show that ceremonial ablutions formed a
feature of their religion. The Great Bath has been suggested as the
temple of the River-God. The crocodile probably represented
the river Indus. The cult of the gharial survives in Sind even
today.

The representations, on some seals, of Svastika and the wheel,
which are the symbols of the sun, suggest that the sun was not re¬
presented anthropomorphically but symbolically. Svastika and the
cross appear to be religious or magical symbols as in Babylonia and
Elam.

From a faience tablet showing a seated deity with a worshipper
on either side and a hooded cobra over the head, it appears that some
form of Ndga worship was practised.

5. FUNERARY CUSTOMS

The evidence with regard to the customs about the disposal,
of the dead in the ancient Indus Valley is yet far too meagre for
any definite conclusions, and though Harappii records more ample

192

THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

material, it relates to a period subsequent to the occupation of
Mohenjo-daro.

Three forms of burial have been found at Mohenjo-daro, viz.,
complete burials, fractional burials, and post-cremation burials.
Complete burial means the burial of the whole body, ceremonially
performed in various forms, along with the grave furniture, offerings,
etc. About 30 skeletons, evidencing complete burials, have been
found in different groups. Some of these appear to have been
victims of accidental death. ,Ali these burials appear, on stratigra-
phical evidence, to relate to the declining years of Mohenjo-daro.

Fractional burial represents a collection of some bones after
the exposure of the body to wild beasts and birds. Five such burials
have been found, the best specimen being an urn containing a skull
and some fragmentary bones, along with a number of earthenware
vessels, and a variety of small objects including balls, beads, shell
spoon, bits of ivory, and miniature vessels kP\. VIII. 1). Human
bones are not found in all specimens, probably because after ex¬
posure bones were ground to dust before interment.

Post-cremation burials have been inferred from large wide¬
mouthed urns containing a number of smaller vessels, bones of
animals, and of birds or fish, and a variety of small objects, such ns
beads, bangles, figurines, etc., sometimes mixed with charcoal ashes.
These are generally found underneath a floor or a street. Human
bones are seldom found, these generally being the bones of lambs,
goats, etc., as bones are hardly necessary for post-cremation burials.
The uniform character of the urns, quite distinct from the domestic
varieties, as also the offerings in the form cf objects of special in¬
terest to the departed, and the burial of these urns within dwelling
houses or in close proximity, leave r.o doubt as to their being burial
urns. These have been discovered at six places in Mohenjo-daro,
distributed among strata of all periods.

6. THE INDUS SCRIPT

The Indus script has been characterized by most scholars as
pictographic, but save for a small number of signs representing
birds fish, etc., and varieties cf the human form, the rest bear more
or less a conventional character. Originally pictographic. the signs,
as we know them, have become standardized, but not so conventio¬
nalized by usage as to have become mere stereotyped summaries
like the cuneiform characters of Mesopotamia. During all the cen¬
turies of Mohenjo-daro’s occupation, the script presents no develop¬
ment in the form of the letters. The script is found in one stage
only, so that we cannot trace its genesis from the pictographic to the
ideographic or phonetic, cr its later development to any of the
scripts of India.

The most remarkable features of the Indus script are its clarity

193

THE VEDIC AGE

and straight rectilinear character, and the extent and variety of its
signs. Admirable ingenuity is displayed in modifying the signs by
the addition of strokes or accents, and in combining one sign witn
another in the form of conjuncts. The large number of signs pre¬
cludes the possibility of the script being alphabetic. It was mainly
phonetic, most of tire signs apparently standing for open or closed
syllables, and the remainder functioning as determinatives or ideo¬
grams. Nearly 400 distinct signs have been listed from the script
so far.

From the recurrence of certain characters, the facing of the
animais and a few other indications, it has rightly been inferred that
the direction of writing is from the right to the left, though in a
very few inscriptions the direction is from left to right. In legends
covering two or more lines the direction is boustraphedon .

There are resemblances between some characters in the Indus
script and those in the Sumerian, proto-Elamite, Hittite, Egyptian,
Cretan, Cypriote, and Chinese scripts. Similarities have also been
traced with the script of the Easter Islands, and the Tantric picto*
graphic alphabets. All these scripts are possibly interrelated, but
only up to a certain point. Some scholars even claim the Brahmi
to have been derived from the Indus script.

It is not possible, in the present stage of our knowledge, to
determine the language of the script. Some scholars take it to be
Sanskrit and others as Dravidian. In their attempts to decipher
the script several scholars have taken for granted the identity of
the Indus language with one or the other of the known languages
or their prototypes.17 In connection with the resemblances of the
Indus signs with other scripts, Kao Bahadur Dikshit observes that
the resemblance with Sumerian and proto-Elamite signs presages
a close connection, at least in the formative stages; similarities with
the Egyptian and Chinese pictographs are superficial, and the Indus
script developed independently on Indian soil.18 With regard to
interpreting the script in terms of the Dravidian equivalents, it may
be stated that we have nothing to rely on as to the original or the
proto-Dra vidian language; the language could not have been static
during these 5,000 years. 18a Much more extensive research in
Southern India, moreover, will be necessary before definite links
can be forged between the later stages of the Indus Valley civiliza¬
tion and the dawn of civilization in Southern India.

The material at our disposal is sufficiently large, but despite
earnest attempts by scholars no real light can be thrown on the sub¬
ject which may find general acceptance. In the absence of a real
solution that would stand the test of any and every investigator, all
attempts to decipher the script will have merely an academic in-
terest. The Indus Valley had trade relations with Sumer and Elam,
and Indus seals have been found at the latter sites. It is likely that

194

THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

some bilingual inscription, turned up by the spade of the archaeo¬
logist in Iraq, will give us the right clue to the decipherment of the
Indus script.

7. THE ANTIQUITY OF THE CULTURE

Despite its definite individual characteristics, the Indus Valley
civilization is not isolated and unique, but has sister civilizations
elsewhere, with several outstanding common features, which indi¬
cate its contemporaneity with the western city cultures in Mesopo¬
tamia. At none of the sites in the Indus Valley has iron been found,
which gives us the lower limit of the age oi the civilization, as
iron was known everywhere in the Middle East in the later half
of the second millennium B.C- The civilization that we find in the
Indus Valley is still of the chaicolithic age displaying remarkable
similarity with the Second Pre-Diluvian Culture of Elam and Meso¬
potamia, and the proto-historic period of Sumer (c. 2750 B.C.).

Excavation has brought to light seven different layers of build¬
ings at Mohenjo-daro, which have been assigned to three periods,
viz. Early, Intermediate, and Late. Earlier layers lie submerged
under subsoil water. The phase of the Indus Valley civilization found
at Mohenjo-daro and Harappa is known as the “Harappa Culture/’
Explorations in Sind have brought to light three different “cultures,*’
viz., those of Amri, Jhukar, and Jhangar, the first of which preceded
and the last two followed the Harappa culture. Chanhu-daro dis¬
played races of Jhukar and Jhangar cultures in the upper levels.

On the analogies of Troy and Rome, normally a period of one
thousand years should be assigned for the occupation of the seven
cities of Mohenjo-daro; but as the decay at Mohenjo-daro was much
quicker on account of the imminent danger of floods (of which v/e
get evidence), and as the re-occupation of the cities was much more
rapid as seen from the uniformity of antiquities in all layers, a
period of only 500 years has been assigned for the whole strata. As,
however, the civilization is already in a developed stage, roughly
a period of 1000 years has been allotted for the antecedent evolution.

The latest settlement of Mohenjo-daro has been attributed to
2750 B.C., so that the occupation of the seven cities ranges between
3250-2750 B.C. This rough dating, however, has been brought
down by a few centuries by the find of various Indus Valley objects
in datable strata in Sumer and Mesopotamia.

An Indus seal confined to the Late Period at Mohenjo-darc was
found at Eshnunna in layers pertaining to 2600-2500 B.C., so that
the early period at Mohenic-daro reaches back to about 2800 B.C.
A similar seal, however, has been found at Ur in a tomb which is
not older than 2150 B.C.19 Dr. Frankfort’s discovery of cylinder
seals of Indian origin at Tell Asmar and of a green steatite vase
depicting a Srahmani bull at Tell Agrab carry back the date of the

THE VEDIC AGE

Indus Valley civilization to about 2800 B.C. The seals of the
Indus Valley type found in Mesopotamia by Dr. Gadd indicate
2800 B.C. as the upper limit of the Harappa culture. Dr. Fabri
places the main culture period at Mohenjo-daro between 2800-
2500 13. C. on the evidence of a pottery jar with a Sumero-Baby Io¬
nian inscription found at Mohenjo-daro.20 A comparison of the
plain and painted ware in the Indus Valley with similar specimens
at Sumer, Elam, and Egypt shows the Indus Valley civilization to
have flourished about 2500 B.C. Ceramic evidence shows that the
earliest stage of the Indus Valley civilization is represented at Amri,
which may go back to 3000 B . C., followed by the Harappa, Jhukar,
and J hangar cultures.

On a careful consideration of all available material for the
age of the Indus civilization, some of which has been indicated
above, it appears that the main culture period at Mohenjo-daro
or the “Harappa culture” ranged between 2800-2500 B.C. Though
it must have had a long history of antecedent development before
it reached the stage we meet, no idea of that period can be had, as
the lowermost strata cannot be reached at Mohenjo-daro, Harappa,
Jhukar, or Chanhu-daro, because of subsoil water. The civilization
for all we know may well reach beyond 3500 B . C. The uppermost
layers of Chanhu-daro, as suggested by Dr. Mackay, can be assigned
to 2300-2200 B.C., whereas the lower strata go back to 2600-2500
B.C. The culture period of the Indus Valley civilization, as re¬
vealed by its finds, thus seems to have lasted roughly from c. 2800
to 2200 B.C. The cultures at different sites in the Indus Valley are
to be placed between these two extreme dates.

8. AUTHORS OF THE INDUS CIVILIZATION

The only definite material available with regard to the author¬
ship of the Indus Valley civilization is the human skeletons and skulls
found among the ruins. As mentioned above, these show that the
population of Mohenjo-daro was heterogeneous and comprised at
least four different racial types, viz. Proto- Australoid, Mediterra¬
nean, Alpinoid, and Mongoloid. The Mohenjo-daro population is,
however, generally believed to have mainly consisted of the Medi¬
terranean type, which has been described before (ante, p. 145 ff.).
The craniological evidence speaks not only of the diverse racial
elements, but also of free racial mixture.

No accuracy or scientific precision in this respect can be ex¬
pected in sculptured pieces, as the artists were not anthropologists.
Whatever meagre evidence is supplied by the statuary confirms
the craniological evidence as to the existence of different races.

The anthropological and statuary evidence does not aid us in
pointing at the authors of the civilization. There has been quite an
amount of speculation among scholars and archaeologists with re-

196

THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

gard to the ascription of the authorship of the Indus civilization to
any particular race. Words like Aryan and Dravidian wmch pri¬
marily denote linguistic groups have been indiscriminately used in
an ethnic sense in this connection. Thus the authorship has been
ascribed to Dravidians, Brahuis, Sumerians, Panis, Asuras, Vratyas,
Vahikas, Dasas, Nagas, Aryans, etc.21

The majority view prefers to hold the authors of the Indus
civilization as speakers of “Dravidian” {ante, p. 158). So far, how¬
ever, as the funeral customs are concerned it is impossible to as¬
cribe the Indus Valley culture to the “Dravidians,” among whom
burial was the prevalent form of interring the dead. Further,
excavation in the south has hitherto revealed no traces of the Indus
Valley civilization.

The Brahuis, though speaking a Dravidian language, are of
Turko- Iranian origin, and are ethnically quite distinct from the
various peoples speaking Dravidian languages in Central and South¬
ern India. There is no definite evidence to support the Brahui
authorship of the Indus culture.

We know nothing definite as to the racial features of the
Sumerians. They were, no doubt, in close contact with the Indus
Valley in ancient days, and probably formed part of the population
at Mohenjo-daro; but there is nothing to credit them with the author¬
ship of the Indus culture.

As regards the Panis, Vratyas, Vahikas, Asuras, Dasas, and Nagas,
we have no material to identify them with any of the known races.

Sir John Marshall has compared the Vedic civilization with that
of the Indus Valley and has found that they are quite distinct; and
as the entry of the Aryans into India, according to his view of the
date of the Rigvcda, is subsequent to 1500 B.C., more than a thou¬
sand years after the last vestige of the Indus Valley Civilization
disappeared, he cannot think of the Aryans in connection with the
Indus Valley civilization.

Now the presumed age of the Rigveda is really no barrier to the
Aryan authorship of the Indus culture (if other evidence proves that
hypothesis) for,- in the first instance, that age is not known with
even an approximate degree of certainty, and secondly, because the
Rigvcda can safely be taken to have repiesented a period long poste¬
rior to the advent of the Aryans into India. As to the existence of
the Arvans in the Indus Valiev at so early a period as the age of the
Indus culture, it is held by some, on the evidence of skeletal material,
that the Aryans formed part of the diverse population of these

davs.22

Various arguments have been advanced by Sir John Marshall
in order to prove that the Indus Valley civilization was quite dis¬
tinct from, and earlier than, the Vedic civilization. One of his
principal arguments, viz., the borrowing of the Siva cult of Mohenjo-

197

THE VEDIC AGE

tiaro by the Vedic Aryans, has been noted above. Among others
may be mentioned tne absence of the horse and presence of icons.
As regards the first, Dr. Mackay takes the model animal illustrated
in PI VIII. 2 to represent a horse, and has conjectured that the
Indus Valley people probably knew the horse at about 2500 B.C.
at the latest. Tne linds of saddles in some of the lowest strata at
Mohenjo-daro, and the representation of the horse in the Indus
Valley art seem to prove that the horse was known.2 ; As to the
second, it is true that the Vedic religion w^s aniconic to a very
great extent. But it is not unlikely that the Rigveda represents
an earlier phase of the culture found in the Indus Valley. The use
of icons in the Indus Valley, as seen in the phallic cult, probably
followed in the wake of Siva worship in the Rigveda. Later on,
owing to contact with alien or non-Aryan elements, some concepts
such as phallic worship, magic and charms, etc., were perhaps in¬
corporated in the comprehensive Hindu religious system. Simi¬
larly, the Mother Goddess (Aditi and PrithvI in the Rigveda) and
Siva were developed in the period of the Indus Valley by synthesis
and fusion with non-Aryans. There was thus a co-mingling of
cultures, Vedic and non- Vedic, and for the authorship of the com¬
posite Indus Valley civilization, we need not look to any particular
race.

Although Sir John Marshall's view is now generally accepted,
some scholars still regard the Vedic civilization as older than that
of the Indus Valley. It is impossible, at the present state of our
knowledge, to come to any definite conclusion, but it has to be ad¬
mitted that there is no conclusive evidence against the view that
ascribes the authorship of the Indus Valley civilization to the Rig-
vedic Aryans, and regards it as a logical corollary, a lineal descen¬
dant, of the culture described in the Rigveda . But even then the
authorship of the Indus Valley civilization cannot be ascribed to
any particular race, as every element in the diverse population con¬
tributed its share to the civilization. Even assuming that the
Rigvedic civilization was earlier, we must remember that during
the period that intervened between it and the Indus Valley civiliza¬
tion, the Vedic religion was incorporating many alien and non-
Aryan features such as phallus worship, Naga worship, magic. and
spells, etc., and was already tending to become comprehensive,
composite and all-embracing, harmonising different constituent
elements and catering to the needs of the various strata. It would
not, therefore, be correct to ascribe the authorship of the Indus Valley
culture to the Aryan or any other particular race. It represents
the synthesis of the Aryan and non-Aryan cultures. The utmost
that we can say is that the Rigvedic Aryans probably formed an
important part of the populace in those days, and contributed their
share to the evolution of the Indus Valley civilization.

19X

THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

9. EXTENT, CONNECTIONS, AND SURVIVALS OF THE

INDUS CIVILIZATION

The very fact that Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, the first two
prehistoric sites excavated in the Indus Valley, although about 400
miles apart, present a homogeneous culture, shows that the civili¬
zation was neither local nor regional, nor confined to any restricted
area. Subsequent excavations in a large number of other sites
have brought to light prehistoric antiquities representing the iden¬
tical civilization, and these indicate that Mohenjo-daro and Harappa
do not mark the extreme limits of its extent. The late Mr. N. G.
Majumdar’s exploration in Sind revealed various settlements of the
Indus Valley civilization in many places in Sind, from the modern
Hyderabad, 60 miles north-east of Karachi in the south, to Gujo,
Vijnot, and Jacobabad in the north, forming a long chain of mounds
between the present course of the Indus and the foot-hills of the
Kirthar range. The annexed map (No. 2) shows that these pre¬
historic sites follow the old lines of communication between southern
and northern Sind through the hill range. Chanhu-daro, over a
hundred miles south-east of Mohenjo-daro, and Amri, the same
distance down-stream from Mohenjo-daro, are important sites at
which the same civilization has been found. On the west bank of
the Indus, Lohumjo-daro, Ali Murad, Jhukar, Ghazi Shah, Alor, etc.
are the principal sites from which several objects of the Indus cul¬
ture were recovered. Further west, Sir Aurel Stein’s explorations
have proved the extension of the Indus Valley civilization to Dabar
Kot, Sur Jangal, and Periano Ghundal in Northern Baluchistan and
Kulli and Mehi in Southern Baluchistan. According to Stein, Shahi
Tump marks the outpost of the Indus Valley civilization.24

Terra-cottas recovered at Buxar and at Pataliputra (Patna)
indicate the extent of the cultural influence of the Indus Valley
eastward.25 In the Ghazipur and Benares districts were found
pictographs. carnelian beads, and objects exactly similar to those
found in the Indus Valley. There are various ancient sites in the
United Provinces in the Gangetic basin from which relics of copper
civilization have been reported.

Kotla Nihang Khan, near Rupar on the Sutlej in the Ambala
district below the Simla hills, about 220 miles due east of Harappa,
also records finds typical of the Indus Valley sites.

Thus the Indus Valley civilization seems to have embraced the
whole of Sind and the Punjab, the bulk of Kathiawar, a part of the
coastal region, the valleys of North-west Frontier province, and a
part at least of the Gangetic basin.26

The extent of the Indus Valley civilization indicates its con¬
nections practically with the whole of Northern India, and in the
west, with all the contemporary cultures. Immediately the dis-

199

THE VEDIC AGE

coveries in the Indus Valley were published, Sumerologists came
forward with affinities of the Indus Valley civilization with Sumer,
and at the outset the Indus Valley civilization was designated Indo-
Sumerian. But despite its close contact with ancient Sumer, the
Indus Valley civilization has peculiarities 0f its own. It has re¬
cently been shown that the similarities between the two cultures
have been over-emphasized and the differences overlooked. At
any rate there is an overwhelming mass of evidence showing that
a flourishing trade, probably through the land routes in Baluchistan,
existed between the Indus Valley and Sumer in ancient times.
Numerous seals of Indian design and workmanship have been found
at various Sumerian and Elamite sites. Importations from Sumer
recovered in the Indus Valley, however, are comparatively very
few. A white marble seal, an engraved steatite vessel, an etched
carnelian bead, a model ram, an adze axe, and small pottery rings
used as net-weights have been recorded as probable importations
from Sumer, indicating trading intercourse. The most important
piece of evidence testifying to the influence of the Indus Valley on
Sumer is the fashion of hair-dressing adopted by Sumerian women
from the Indus Valley.27

For associations with Egypt, however, we have to depend only
on indirect connection suggested by certain objects and motifs. No
definite object of Egyptian workmanship has been found in the
Indus Valley, nor has any Egyptian site recorded an Indus Valley
object. Segmented beads and hemispherical terminals of necklaces,
bull-legged stools, small model beds with recumbent female figu¬
rines, female figurines suckling a child, faceted beads, . fly-shaped
beads, cord designs, candle stands and mussel-shell-shaped spoons,
are among the various objects that link the Indus Valley and Egypt.
The borrowings appear to have taken place through Sumer and
Elam as intermediaries.

Though Stein’s researches clearly show that the population of
Baluchistan was far greater than it is now, and that various land
routes through Baluchistan were extensively used in ancient times
for trade purposes, it appears probable that the Indus Valley people
also used sea-routes, despite lack of corroborative evidence.

Before dealing with the survivals of the Indus Valley civiliza¬
tion, we may consider the causes that led to its decay and dis¬
appearance. The progressive desiccation of the lower Indus Valley
was the main cause of the evacuation of the Indus cities. The grow¬
ing danger of floods was certainly responsible for the evacuation of
Mohenjo-daro. The Indus floods, however, cannot account entirely
for the desertion of the Indus settlements, though possibly climatic
changes were an important reason. There is a remarkable dearth
of means of defence both structural, such as walls, turrets, etc., and
mechanical, such as weapons, etc., and it is probable that these rich.

:oo

THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

unguarded cities, with their unwarlike mercantile population, were
sacked by invading tribes, some of whom may have been Aryans.
The skeletons found at Mohenjo-daro bear out this conjecture.
A similar fate overtook the palace Of Minos at Crete.

The discovery of the Indus Valley civilization has pushed back
the history of India to the period 3000-2500 B.C. if not earlier still .
It is generally believed that there is a hiatus in Indian culture of
at least 1000 years, up to c. 1500 B.C. when the Aryans set foot in
India.. It will be shown later (Ch. XIV) that according to the tradi¬
tional history of the Hindus as recorded in the Puranas, ancient
history ends with the Mahabharata war, which was fought in c.
1400 B.C., and goes back to the period immediately after the Flood.
As Mohenjo-daro culture is a post-Flood .event, we may hold that
there is a continuity of historical traditions right from the Mohenjo-
daro period down to the Mahabharata war, and these grow more
and more reliable as we come to later times ending in the Gupta
Age (fourth century A.D.).

Punch-marked coins, with their symbols reminiscent of the Indus
Valley script, and with their standard of weight conforming to the
weight system at Mohenjo-daro, constitute an important survival
of the Indus Valley dating from before 400 B.C. The die-struck
and cast varieties of ancient Indian coins appear to be indebted to
the Indus Valle}' for- their form. Some of the motifs, designs,
shapes, and forms found in the pottery and terra-cotta objects at
Mohenjo-daro and Harappa find their counter-part in the objects
discovered in the Punjab and the North-West, belonging to the
early centuries before the Christian era. In the field of religious
symbols, it may be suggested that the horn-crown on the head of
Siva Pasupati in the Indus Valley has survived as a symbol of great
significance in the nandipada, and the images of Siva as Dakshina-
mfirti and of feuddha as Yogi are due to the influence of the Indus
culture.

These instances indicate that there was probably no complete
break or hiatus after the Indus Valley civilization.

GENERAL REFERENCES

MACKAY. Further Excavations at Mohenio-daro. TVo vols. Delhi. 1938.

MAJI.TjVTDAR, N.G.: Explorations in Sind. MASl . No. 48. Delhi. 1934.
MARSHALL, SIR JOHN: Mohenjo-daro and the Indus Civilization. Three vols.
London. 1.931.

VATS. M.S.: Excavations at Harappa. Two vols. Delhi, 1940.

1. The name Mohenjo-daro has been variously interpreted to mean "the mound
of the dead" ( Moh . Ind„ P. I), "the mound of the confluence” (JR AS. 1932.
p. 456. fn. I), "the mound of the killed" (Mahan-jo-Daro, p. I) or “the mound
of Mohan."

la. Harappa. p. 13.

2. Moh. hid., p. 274 (Mackay), 274, fn. 2 (Marshall): Mariwala, Ancient Sind, p. 9.

3. Carlet.on. Buried Empires, p. 151.

4. Childe. New Light, p. 209; Dikshit. Preh. Civ., p. 25.

-!a. Harappa. p. 6.

5. Mackay, BMFA. XXXIV. p. 91: cf. Chan-d.. p. 235.

201

THE VEDIC AGE

6. Cf. Chan-d.t pp. 236 if.

7. Cf. Dikshit, PreK Civ., pp. 31-2.

8. Carleton, Buried Empires , p. 154.

9. Script, p. 32.

10. Dr. Hunter regards them as coins or stamped ingots— JRAS, 1932, p. 474.

11. Dr. Thomas suggests that the seals served the combined function of seal,
amulet, and ex voto (JRAS, 1932, p. 460), and Dr. Hunter states that they
were used for stamping unbaked clay to be carried outside the city with the
offerings (JRAS. 1932, p. 471).

12. Mackay, JRSA, 82, p. 218. Venkateswara refers to these as Dlpalakshml figures
on account of their analogy with later metal figures in South India holding
oil in hand (Cult. Her., Ill, p. 60).

12a. Cf. Ch. VIII, p. 158, for the suggestion that the idea of the Mother Goddess
was imported by the Dravidians from the West.

13. Cf. Childe, New Light, p. 222.

14. Cf. Ch. X, below, p. 203, and Ch. VIII, above, p. 161.

14a. RV, II. I. 6; 33. 9; X. 92. 9; Mookerji, POC, VUI, p. 452.

15. Cf. Pusalker, Prdchyavdni, I, pp. 29-31.

16. Cf. Viswanatha, Racial Synthesis in Hindu Culture , p. 26.

17. For Indus Script, See Moh. Ind. (Chs. XXII, XXIII) and articles by Fabri,
Heras, Hertz, Hevesy, Hrozny, Hunter, Meriggi, Otto, Petrie, Piccoli, Pran
Nath, Ross, Sankarananda, Sastri and Waddell in the Bibliography.

18. Preh. Civ., p. 46.

18a. See ante, Cn. VIII. p. 158 ff .

19. Carleton, Buried Empires, p. 145.

20. 1C, IE. pp. 663-73; CS, VI, p. 435.

21. For different views on the authors of the Indus Culture, see Moh. Ind.
(pp. 107-12) and articles by Banerji, Banerji-Sastri, Bhandarkar, Cadell,
Chanda, Chafcterji, Heras. Keith, Law, Mariwalla, Mookerji, Pusalker, Venka¬
teswara, Sankarananda, Sarup, Sastri, Shembavnekar, Sur, and Waddell in the
Bibliography.

22. Datta, Rigvedic Culture of the Prehistoric Indus, Foreword, p. XXV; Chau-
dhuri, CR, June 1945.

23. Cf. Childe, New Light , p. 210.

24. JRAI, 64. p. 193.

25. JBHS, HI, pp. 187-91.

26. It is suggested that the civilization extended southward into the Hyderabad
State, the Kamatak, the Nilgiris. the Tinnevelly district and even as far as
Ceylon (JIH, XVI, p. 12); but the evidence is far too meagre to justify the
inference.

27. Cf. Carleton, Buried Empires , p. 161.

0.02-

BOOK. THREE

THE ARYANS IN INDIA

CHAPTER X

THE ARYAN PROBLEM

It was the Florentine merchant Filippo Sassetti who, after five
years’ stay in Goa (1583-1588), declared for the first time that there
existed a definite relation between Sanskrit and some of the prin¬
cipal languages of Europe. But that this relation is due to origin
from a common source was suggested only in 1786 by Sir William
Jones in his famous address to the Asiatic Society of Bengal. He
thus established the common origin of a number of languages such
as Greek, Latin 4 Gothic, Celtic, Sanskrit, Persian, etc., to which
the scholars have given the name Indo-European or Indo-Germanic,
and therewith laid the foundation of the Science of Comparative
Philology. The third and the final step in formulating the Aryan
problem was taken by Max Muller, who declared in emphatic terms:
“Aryan, in scientific language, is utterly inapplicable to race. It
means language and nothing but language; and if we sneak of Aryan
race at all, we should know that it means no more than X 4- Aryan
speech.*’1 This purely linguistic formulation of the problem was,
however, never fully accepted by the learned or the laity. On the
contrary, a romantic reaction, which identified language with race,
set in soon and was given powerful expression by Penka who de¬
clared 'language to be “the organic product of an organism subject
to organic laws.”2 The linguistic world of the last century was
thus sharply, divided into two schools of thought, as old as the
Greeks of the classical age, who also were unable to decide whether
language is a phusis (inborn quality) or merely a thesis (acquired
habit).3 Today Muller’s school is dominant, no doubt, but Penka’s
is yet far from discredited, for it is now realized that, though by no
means determined by race, yet. as a social phenomenon, a language
can assume its particular aspect only within a particular societv,
and that in those very early times, when the original Indo-European
language was gradually taking shape, such a particular societv
could have been based only on racial affinity, purely cultural bonds
being out of the question. In fact, at the beginning, every natural
language must have been confined within a not too large racial
group — though it by no means follows that there could not have
originated more than one language within one racial group at the
beginning. It is clear, therefore, that the race-question, if rightly
understood, is by no means irrelevant to the Aryan problem. Only
it is necessary to remember that the racial group, within which the
primitive Indo-European language originated, may have itself adopt¬
ed a non-Indo-European language in course of its history, or may
have altogether passed out of existence. Ours will therefore be a

205

THE VEDIC AGE

double task: to try to identify anthropologically and locate geo¬
graphically the primitive racial group within which the basic Indo-
European language, as reconstructed by Comparative Philology, had
originated.

There being — in spite of Penka and his school4 — no organic
relatioif between language on the one hand and race and geography
on the other, our method cannot but be empirical. And the obvious¬
ly most important empiric fact about the known Indo-European
languages is that quite a large number of them are crowded together
within the comparatively small space of Europe, covering practi¬
cally the whole of that continent, whereas outside Europe, instead of
a compact body of idioms of that speech-family are found only
scattered members of it, stretching out, as it were, in single file.,
between the Semitic and the Altaic-Finno-Ugrian linguistic areas,
and ending, at least in the age of the earlier FLigveda, in the region
of the Punjab. The geographical distribution of the idioms of the
Indo-European speech-family, therefore, does suggest that the
original home of the Indo-Europeans is to be sought rather in Europe
than in Asia. Moreover, of all the living. Indo-European languages
of the present day, it is Lithuanian, and not Sanskrit (even if con¬
sidered a living language) or any of its daughter dialects, that has
kept closest to the basic idiom reconstructed by Comparative Philo¬
logy.

v7 v

These two fundamental facts make a strong prima facie case
against the theory that India was the original home of the Aryans.
This view, though highly favoured at one time.5 has not many sup¬
porters now. though some Indian scholars still tenaciously cling to
it. Their views and arguments have been summarized in the -Ap¬
pendix. The reader will find a refutation of some of them in course
of this chapter. But while no definite conclusion about this much-
debated problem can yet be reached, it may be reasonably urged
that had India been the original home of the Aryans5 they would
have certainly tried fully to Aryanize the whole of this sub-conti¬
nent before crossing the frontier barriers in quest of- adventure.

The fact that the whole of South India and some parts of North

India too are to this day non-Arvan in speech is the strongest single

argument against the Indian-home hypothesis, especially as the

existence of a Dravidian soeech-oocket (Brahui) in Baluchistan

• *

clearly suggests that the whole or at least a considerable part of
India was originally non-Aryan in speech. The cerebral sounds of
Sanskrit which sharnlv distinguish it from all the other Indo-Euro¬
pean speech-families including Iranian, are best exnlained as the
result of Austric and Dravidian influence on the language of the
incoming Aryans. Could it be proved that the language of the
prehistoric Mohenio-daro culture was Sanskrit or nroto-San^krit
then indeed it might have been possible to argue that in spite of

206

THE ARYAN PROBLEM

all the evidence to the contrary India was the original home of
tne Aryans, for there is no definite proof of the existence of an
Aryan race or language outside India previous to the age of the
Monenjo-daro culture. But the Mohenjo-daro seals being still un-
decipnered, we cannot, for the present, hazard any opinion on this
subject.7

Many scholars hold the view that the Vedic culture was funda¬
mentally different from that of Mohenjo-daro, and later in date.
This question has been discussed above, d but special stress may be
laid on one point. On the evidence of a well-known plaque dis¬
covered at Mohenjo-daro, Sir John Marshall declared that the cult
of Siva-Pasupati (= Rudra) was borrowed by the Vedic Aryans
from the Mohenjo-daro culture. Now, it is hardly an accident that
precisely this Rudra — and no other deity — is regarded in Vedic cult
and religion as an apotropaeic god of aversion — to be feared but
not adored.9 Offerings to all other gods are sacrificed into the fire,
but those to .Rudra and his servants (Rudriyas) are simply depo¬
sited at cross-roads or various forbidding places.10 Rudra and the
Rudriyas are, therefore, in every respect analogous to the Theoi
Apopompaioi of Greece, the gods of the pre-Hellenic autochtho¬
nous population of that country.11 Should not the Rudra gods, too,
be regarded in the same way as gods of the pre-Aryan population
of India? But to admit that would be to confess that the Mohenjo-
daro people were not Aryans. It is true, as noted above, that Sir
John’s view is not accepted by all.12 But if the oldest traceable
civilization of India be regarded as of non-Aryan inspiration, the
conclusion becomes almost irresistible that the Aryans had come
to India from outside.

But why consider the Mohenjo-daro civilization to be the oldest
traceable civilization of India? What is there to prove that the
Aryan culture of Rigvedic India was not older than the culture re¬
presented by the ruins of Mohenjo-daro? Thus arises the great
question of the age of the Rigveda, which, however, in the present
context can but be touched in passing on the background of the
general problem of the first emergence of the Aryans into the light
of history.

From a purely linguistic point of view the Rigveda in its pre¬
sent form cannot be dated much earlier than 1000 B.C. The
language of the Rigveda is certainly no more different from that
of the Avestan Gathds than is Old English from Old High German,
and therefore they must be assigned to approximately the same
age; and the relation between the language of the Gathds and that
of the Old Persian inscriptions of the sixth century B.C. cannot be
better visualized than by comparing the former with Gothic and
the latter with Old High German. Now, if the inscriptions of the
Achaemenid emperors of Iran were composed in Old High German,

207

THE VEDIC AGE

what would be the date assigned to Ulfilas’ Gothic Bible? Surely
something like 1000 B.C. This then would be the approximate
date of the Gathas of Avesta13 — with which the Rigveda in its pre¬
sent form must have been more or less contemporaneous. Thus
from general linguistic considerations we get for the Rigvedic
language, as known to us, an approximate date of 1000 B.C.14 Al¬
though the culture represented by it must be considerably older, it
can hardly be pushed back considerably before 1500 B.C. The
Rigvedic language, with its date of about 1000 B.C., therefore, fur¬
nishes the temiinus ad quern and the Mohenjo-daro culture of about
2500 B.C. the terminus a quo of the first Aryan invasion of India.
In order to ascertain the extra-Indian (as shown above) original
home of the Aryans we shall now discuss the earliest datable traces
of their eastern tribes (the Indo-Iranians) and then try to follow
up the indication of those traces further back.

The earliest indubitable trace of a definitely characterized
Ind ©-Iranian language of the Indo-European family is to be found,
as is well known, in the names of the four Vedic gods Mitra, Vanina,
Indra, and the Nasatyas (in slightly different forms) occurring in
records of treaties, discovered at Boghaz-koi, between the Hittite
king Shubbiluliuma and the Mitanni king Mattiuaza of about 1400
B.C,15 It is very significant that the determinative “god” in the
plural has been placed before each of the two names Mitra and
Varuna, for the purpose of this plural determinative could have
been only to suggest that the two names formed a Dvandva com¬
pound-just as in Vedic Sanskrit.16 Yet it will be wrong to con¬
clude from these names that the language from which they were
borrowed was nothing but our Vedic Sanskrit, and to regard the
minor differences17 as due solely to the inadequacy of the Akkadian
syllabary used by the Hittites. For the numerals (aifca, tera. panza ,
satta)., occurring in a manual of chariot-racing composed in the
Hittite language by a Mitannian author named Kikkuli, likewise
discovered at Boghaz-koi, clearly point to an archaic Indo-Iranian
dailect which was not yet fully characterized either as Indo-Aryar.
or as Iranian.

On the other hand it is equally difficult to accept the view of
the writer in the Cambridge Ancient History that here we have in
the fourteenth century B.C. the undifferentiated Indo-Iranians
“who at a later period formed these two important Indo-European
stocks.”18 For if the forefathers of the Vedic Arvans were still
in Cappadocia in the fourteenth century B.C. on their march to¬
wards India, there would be no time left for them to forget all their
previous history before giving the final form to the Rigvedic hymns
not later than 1000 B.C.: it really cannot be proved that the Vedic
Aryans retained anv memorv of their extra-Indian associations.

• i i

:os

THE ARYAN PROBLEM

excepting perhaps a camouflaged reminiscence of their sojourn in
Iran.19

But Boghaz-koi is not the only place yielding definite proof of
the existence of an archaic Indo-Iranian speech-form about 1400 B.C.
The clay tablets with Babylonian cuneiform script discovered at
Ei-Amama in Egypt20 have revealed the fact that numerous dynasts
with -Indo-Iranian-looking names (such as Artamanya, Arzawiya,
Yasdata, Suttarna, etc., in which no specifically Indo-Aryan or
Iranian feature is perceptible), were ruling in Syria about the same
time.21 Linguistic evidence derived from rpgipns as distant from
each other as Cappadocia and Syria, therefore, definitely proves that
about 1400 B.C. there existed in those regions archaic Indo-Iranian
speech-forms which are undoubtedly older than the oldest Avestan
or Sanskrit known to us.

But it is possible perhaps to reach back still farther. About
1760 B.C. Babylon fell info the hands of the Kassites who are
known to have used the word “suna? ’ to designate the sun.22 This
is the oldest attested word of definitely Indo-Iranian stamp which
was perhaps borrowed by the Kassites from the Indo-Iranians before
they dispersed from their common home, as suggested by Herz-
feld.23 But the evidence of this solitary word of Indo-Iranian
origin cannot be regarded as adequate proof of the existence of
Indo-Iranians in western Asia already in the eighteenth century
B.C. Nor does the joint testimony of this word and the Indo-
Iranian names of the Syrian dynasts of the fifteenth century B.C.
warrant the assumption that the Indo-Iranians, already as a speci¬
fically characterized Indo-European tribe, entered Asia from Europe
over the Caucasus, arid after occupying Iran pushed on farther to
the Punjab, as was held by Hirt.24 For even though the general
movement of the Indo-Europeans in Asia might have been from
west to east, yet it should have been quite possible for some Indo-
Iranian-speaking tribes to sweep over western Asia in a back-surge
of invasion.

This is precisely the view expressed by Eduard Meyer26 who,
on historical grounds, has tried to show that the point from which'
the Indo-Iranians began to spread eastward into the Punjab and
westward into the Mesopotamian world, is to be sought somewhere
in the region of the Pamir plateau.26 What Eduard Meyer urges
against Hirt’s theory is worth quoting: “There are, however, very
grave difficulties in the way of accepting this theory. Precisely
those regions in which according to this theory, these (Indo-Iranian)
tribes should have settled down at first — and which in the histo¬
rical period should have been the theatre of their activities —
should then have been so completely evacuated by them that not
a single trace of them was left behind. For among the numerous
personal and place-names handed down to us from Armenia up to

209

THE VEDIC AGE

ihe end of the Assyrian age there is absolutely nothing Indo-
European, and even the frontier mountains of Media are inhabited
by non-Indo-Iranian tribes: it is quite apparent that the Indc-
Iranian Medes have here gradually pushed forward from the east
and attained supremacy. On the other hand, although positive
proof is wholly lacking, it is quite impossible to assign for the begin¬
nings of the Vedic age— -and of the specific Indo-Aryan culture
beginning therewith — any date later than 1500 B.C.”27

This theory of a westward migration of the Indo-Iranians from
their common home, so ably presented by Eduard Meyer2^ to ex¬
plain the apparently simultaneous beginning of Vedic culture in
India and the appearance of Aryan princes in Mesopotamia
(Mitanni), Syria, and Palestine about the middle of the second mil¬
lennium E.C., was shared also by Oldenberg20 and Keith.30 Johan¬
nes Friedrich, too, at least conceded the possibility of a westward
movement of a small body of Indo-Iranians.31 Most emphatic on
this point is, however, Wilhelm Brandenstein, who says — without
however offering any new argument of his own — “there can be no
doubt that also Indians ^probably Vedic Indians) have lived in Fur¬
ther Asia.’’32 On the whole it is quite clear that the Indo-Iranians
advanced not only into India but also spread westward from their
common home that was situated probably in the Pamir region
(Meyer) or in Russian Turkestan (Herzfeld). And the dispersal
of the Indo-Iranians from their original home should have begun
about 2000 B.C., since the Indo- Aryans had become completely
Indianized when the Rigvedic culture started on its course as a
distinct product of the Indian soil about 1500 B.C. Starting from
this we shall now discuss the larger problem of the original home
of the Indo-Europeans.

With the possible exception of Luvian, of which we know very
little, Hittite is the oldest known Indo-European dialect.33 Yet,
Cappadocia in Asia Minor, the seat of this oldest attested (from
about 1900 B.C.)34 Indo-European language, cannot claim to have
been the Indo-European original home; for, as Gotze35 has .shown,
the pre-Hittite Assyrian commerical colonies of Cappadocia, after
an uninterrupted flourishing existence of about one thousand years,
came to an abrupt end about 1950 B.C., apparently due to Hittite
invasion. The Hittites, therefore, came to Cappadocia from outside,
but they could not have coine from very far, for the earliest theatre
of Indo-European historical activity could not have been too dis¬
tant from the Indo-European original home.

The date 1950 B.C., practically certain for the Hittite inva¬
sion of Asia Minor, is of great importance for Indo-European pre¬
history, for the Indo-Iranians, too, should have reached their com¬
mon home (in the Pamir region or in Russian Turkestan, see supra)
about that time, since to account for the beginning of the speei-

210

THE ARYAN PROBLEM

iically Indian Vedic culture about 1500 B.C. no date much later
than 2000 B.C. can be postulated for the occupation of their
common home by the Indo-Iranians.

Now if the two oldest known Indo-European tribes, the Hittites
and the Indo-Iranians, appear about the same time (c. 2000 B.C.)
in .Cappadocia and Central Asia respectively, then it will be reason¬
able to conclude that the original home whence both the Hittites
and the Indo-Iranians came was. more or less equidistant from Cap¬
padocia and Central Asia. Hence follows that neither India nor
Central or Western Europe could' have been the original Indo-
European home.36

For our problem it is now of capital importance to enquire
from which direction the Hittites entered . Asia Minor. On the
ground of similarity between prehistoric ceramics of about 2800
B.C. discovered in Eastern Anatolia and Macedonia, Gotze con¬
cluded that the “Indo-European Hittites” entered Asia. Minor from
Europe37 after crossing the straits.36 But this theory does not,
and cannot, explain why in the historical period the Hittites were
settled not in Western but in Central and Eastern Asia Minor, and
it is not without reason that Eduard Meyer39 suggested instead
that they came from the east.

Of the other Indo-European languages of Asia, special impor¬
tance, for the Aryan problem, attaches to Tocharian — a late attested
(from the fifth to the tenth century- A.D.) Centum language of
Eastern Turkistan,40 of. which the relation with other Indo-European
languages and the basic idiom has been fully discussed in a re¬
markable article by Professor Benveniste.41 Before the discovery
of Tocharian it was* possible to maintain-— in spite of the fact that
the Galataeans (Celts) invaded and occupied Asia Minor in the
third century B.C. — that on the whole all the Centum languages
are to the west and all the Satem languages are to the east of the
Vistula, and on the basis of this seemingly correct observation Hirt42
built up his ingenious theory that before their - final dispersal the
Indo-Europeans should have been settled on both sides of that river,
which itself was apparently the main cause of the Satem~Centum
dialect-split.43 Now, however, after the discovery of Tocharian,
Hirt’s theory can no longer be maintained. For Benveniste has
shown that Tochariah, which like Hittite had . been characterized
as a distinct dialect even before the Satem-Centum split had taken
place, was originally at home far to the east of the Vistula.

Of the Indo-European languages of Europe, Lithuanian, as al¬
ready stated above, is certainly the most archaic. Organically, as
a definitely characterized Satem-language, it must be considered
of later origin than Hittite and .Tocharian, and yet. in external
appearance (flexions and endings) it looks older than even these.
This apparent contradiction can be explained, so far as can be seen,

211

THE VEDIC AGE

only on one hypothesis: it is necessary to insist that it is a hypothe¬
sis pure and simple and nothing more: an Indo-European group
bodily came to Lithuania after the Satem-Centum dialect -split, and
there in the backwoods started a long but uneventful national life
in practically complete isolation, affording their language little
opportunity to change and progress, while to all the other Indo-
European-speaking countries came not so much the Indo-Europeans
themselves as their languages. In other words, though Schmidt’s
wave-theory of the spread of dialects should be retained for the
other Indo-European dialects, yet, so far as Lithuanian is concern¬
ed, we should accept Schleicher’s older family-tree theory.44

This is frankly speculative, but nevertheless we shall- have to
accept it, unless we refuse to face the problem. And if we accept
it we shall have also to admit that the Indo-European original home
could not have been very far removed from Lithuania, for bodily
movements of peoples over long distances could not have been
possible in those early times excepting over a long period of clash
and contact with alien races and speeches, as the result of which
the language of the immigrants could not but have been profoundly
modified.45 It is necessary to remember in this connection that
the Lithuanian speech-area of mediaeval Europe extended much
farther to the east than it does today. And the fact that Lithuanian
loan-words in Finnish are more numerous than the Slavic ones in
that language clearly suggests that in prehistoric times the Lithua¬
nian speech-area , extended much farther still to the east, perhaps
separating the Slavs from the Finns, a$ suggested by Hirt.*6

The oldest attested Indo-European language of Europe, namely
Greek, is frankly an import from outside. As Hall47 aptly says:
“Like Sanskrit, Greek, with all its entirely Indo-European syntax
and grammar, has a vast non-Indo-European vocabulary. The
reason was the same in both cases. In both lands the invading
Wiros (i.e. the Indo-Europeans) found a previously existing non-
Aryan race with which they mingled, the Hindus with the Dravi-
dians, the Greeks with the Minoans, and in both cases, while the
language of the conqueror prevailed, that of the conquered sup¬
plied innumerable names and words to its vocabulary. In both
countries the conquered race continued to exist side by side with
the conquerors, the dark Dasyus with the fair Aryans, the dark
Minoans with the fairer Hellenes.” It is generally admitted today
that the rulers of Mycenaean Greece of the fourteenth and the
thirteenth centuries B . C. were not of Greek stock and did not speak
Greek. The first Greek-speaking people of Greece were the
Achaians, who appeared on the scene about 1200 . B . C. after the
decline of the Mycenaean civilization, and adopted Mycenaean cul¬
ture.48 The Indo-European speaking tribes should therefore have
entered Greece for the first time only about 1200 B.C.49 But there

212

THE ARYAN PROBLEM

is nothing to tell us from what region precisely the Greek tribes
came. .

Thus the most archaic (Lithuanian) as well as the oldest attested
(Greek) Indo-European language of Europe fails to make out a
definite case for an European original home of the Aryans. The
other European languages of the same family need not be discussed
for a solution of the Aryan problem from the linguistic point of
view, for they are all violent variations of the original Indo-European,
particularly Germanic and Celtic. In spite of this inconvenient
fact a Germanic home theory has been always very popular with
many eminent European scholars for racial reasons. It is argued
by them that the interior Of the Germanic countries — particularly
Scandinavia — cannot be proved to have been ever occupied by an
alien race. If yet the Germanic tribes have always spoken an Indo-
European tongue — so it is asserted, because it is impossible to prove
the contrary — then it will have to be assumed that Indo-European
speech came into existence on Germanic soil, and that is to admit
that Germany or some Germanic country was the original home of
the Aryans.60 This is in a nutshell the chief . argument put forward
by protagonists of the Germanic home theory. The inspirer of this
school of thought was Penka, who passionately protested against
the tendency of ethnologists to accept meekly the findings of phi¬
lology.51 Penka’s attitude is, however, irrational. The Aryan
problem, as formulated by Max Muller, is a purely linguistic one,
and it can be connected with ethnology only in the restricted
sense explained at the beginning of this chapter. But the primary
significance attached to the term “Aryan” by Penka is the physical
type represented by the Scandinavians! It is not to be wondered,
therefore, that starting with this assumption Penka succeeded in
proving, at least to his own satisfaction, that Scandinavia was the
cradle-land of the Indo-Europeans.52

Modern supporters of Penka’s theory have altogether dropped
the linguistic argument and tend to concentrate on prehistoric
archaeology.53 Thus the West Baltic coast has been regarded as
the home of the Aryans, chiefly on the ground that the oldest and
the simplest artifacts of the period following the palaeolithic age,
as well as tasteful and technically perfected stone implements, are
found there in abundance.54 But it has been rightly pointed out55
that in that case the equally numerous and handsome stone artifacts
of New Zealand would be an evidence for the high antiquity of
Maori culture. Much stress was again laid on the geometric pat¬
terns on prehistoric pottery in Central Germany which were re¬
garded as of Indo-European creation. But apart from the validity
of this assumption, the discovery of similar patterns on the pre¬
historic pottery of South Russia, Poland, and Tripolje (Ukraine)

213

V.A.—14

THE VEDIC AGE

which were older than those of Germany negatives the theory of
an original Aryan home in Germany.56

Indeed, the antiquity of Tripolje pottery, which may be dated
in the third millennium B.C., has induced Nehring to formulate the
view that Tripolje culture is the culture of the original Indo-Euro¬
peans, and in his opinion “the Indo-European original home lay
indeed also in South Russia, but extended far beyond to the west.*’57
That it could not have comprehended any part of Western Europe
is prptty certain, for H. Gvintert68 and F. R. Schroder139 have shown
that Western Europe is one of those areas that were Aryanized last.
Pokorny, too, by applying his substratum theory that a later lan¬
guage is always fundamentally modified by the older language over
which it spreads,60 came to the conclusion that “as the original home
of the Indo-Europeans before the dispersal of the tribes (c. 2400 B.C.)
should be regarded the wide stretches of land between the Weser
and the Vistula and beyond these up to White Russia and Vol-
hynia.’*61

The region indicated by Nehring as the Indo-European cradle-
land is indeed rather too wide, but from the present-day standpoint
of Comparative Philology it would be absurd to think that the
original Indo-Europeans “must have lived for long in a severely
restricted area,” as Giles62 was inclined to believe. Striking iso¬
glosses 63 clearly show that various movements must have taken
place among the different Indo-European tribes before they finally
parted company. Brandenstein’s researches (see below) are in this
regard of capital importance. Nor can it be doubted that the later
Indo-Europeans, even before final dispersal, had ceased to be racially
homogeneous, and therefore the question whether the Indo-Euro¬
peans were blondes or brunettes cannot be regarded as strictly re¬
levant. In recent times the Aryan problem has been hopelessly
mixed up with the race question by European scholars of a certain
school of thought, who, failing to achieve their object with the help
of linguistics and archaeology, have adopted racial anthropology as
their chief weapon of battle. Starting with the assumption that
blonde hair was the chief characteristic of the Indo-Europeans they
have naturally chosen Germany as the Indo-European cradle-land,
and adduced as proof, in support of their theory, various facts such
as that in Greek mythology Appollo has been called blonde and some
prominent Romans (such as Cato the Censor and Sulla) have been
described as “red-haired” or “golden-haired” by Flptarch. It hardly
needs to be pointed out that red hair was regarded as something
unusual and exceptional by the Greeks and Romans, and for that
reason only attracted public attention in Greece and Rome. Blonde
hair was known also in India. In fact, the grammarian Patan-
jali64 declared blonde hair to be one of the essential qualities in a
Brahmapa. True Brahmapas, therefore should have been blondes

214

THE ARYAN PROBLEM

in the pre-Christian era. And yet India, the land oi the Brahma^as,
has never been claimed as the Indo-European cradie-land by tne
racial theorists!

Tbe new line of research opened up by Brandenstein65 is con¬
cerned chiefly with applied semasiology. He proceeds chiefly on
the assumption that it is possible to draw definite conclusions about
the cultural evolution of the primitive Indo-Europeans and their
prehistoric seats of settlement from a study of the stocks of words
they should have possessed at different stages, and also by examin¬
ing the changes of meaning undergone by those words. Branden¬
stein shows first that Indo-Iranian reveals an older stage of sema-
siological evolution than that reflected in all the other Indo-European
dialects put together, and from this he draws the reasonable con¬
clusion that the Indo-Iranians were the earliest to separate from the
main body of Indo-Europeans, and that the other tribes continued
to live together for some time after their departure. Indo-European
of the period previous to the secession of the Indo-Iranians he calls
Early Indo-European, and Indo-European of the period posterior to
that secession, Late Indo-European. The Early Indo-European
vocabulary, in Brandenstein’s opinion, reveals a steppe-land at the
foot of a mountain-range as the original home which, he thinks, can
be no other than the north-western Kirghiz steppe to the south of
the Urals. As for Early Indo-European flora, there cannot be found
the name of a single plant that is typically European, and the fauna
of this period comprised mammals like the elk, otter, wild boar,
wolf, fox, bear, etc.

The later Indo-European vocabulary, however, reveals quite a
different land and quite different plants and animals. In the place
of words associated with dry steppe-land now crop up a number of
vocables which clearly suggest swampy tracts, and now appears for
the first time also the idea of bridges — suggesting settled residence;
on the other hand, words denotative of fauna and flora of this period
point to the territory immediately to the east of the Carpathians.
Brandenstein therefore concludes that the undivided Indo-Europeans
lived originally in what is now the Kirghiz steppe, from where the
Indo-Iranian tribes moved eastward, and 'the other tribes, at a later
date, westward. The westward-moving tribes, however, were split
up into two groups by the Rokytno swamps, so that some of them
struck north to be differentiated later into Nordics, and others ad¬
vanced into Ukraine and from there farther to the south and the
west.

It would be senseless to claim that every detail of the itinerary
of the Indo-European tribes chalked out by Brandenstein is, or can
be, correct. But it is significant that the results obtained by him
by applying his altogether new method should point to approxima¬
tely the same locus as is indicated by the evidence of history, philo-

215

THE VEDIC AGE

logy, and archaeology. Indo-European pre-history, as reconstructed
by Nehring and Brandenstein, is by no means identical, but neither
are the two mutually exclusive. The main difference is that Bran¬
denstein takes as an interim home of the west Indo-European tribes
practically * that very region which in Nehring s view should have
been the Indo-European cradle-land.

We shall now conclude this chapter with a brief examination
of the evidence of the non-Indo-European language-groups on the
Aryan problem. Similarities between Indo-European and Finno-
Ugrian language-groups are so striking06 that they cannot be brushed
aside as cases of mere fortuitous coincidence; but on the other
hand it would be conceding too much to them to postulate on their
evidence an organic relation of distant common origin. The con¬
clusion in any case is irresistible that Indo-European and Finno-
Ugrian had influenced each other in very early times. The original
seat of the Finno-Ugrians was, however, in Central Russia. And it is
significant that from purely ethnographical consideration, too, Flor67
came to the conclusion that “genetically considered,* the Uralians
are, in many cases, the zone of origin of numerous Indo-European
cultural phenomena.”

Some such historical — not organic or genetic — relation between
early Indo-European and early Semitic is hard to deny in face of
the numerous striking points of similarity (if not identity) pointed
out by Moller — similarity in the endings of nominative, accusative,
and genitive singular,68 in certain elements of dual and plural for¬
mation,69 and perhaps also in nominative and accusative singular
of the pronominal flexion.70 He even categorically declared that “the
Semites did not radiate from Arabia as is assumed by most Semitists,
but came to Arabia from a northern seat either through Asia Minor
or over the Iranian plateau.”71

Moller's theory has indeed not been generally accepted by the
scholarly world, but it is no longer possible to deny today that there
must have been at least historical contact of some sort between
Early Indo-European and Early Semitic. This is important, for if
the primitive Indo-Europeans had on the one hand contact with the
Finno-Ugrians of Central Russia and on the other with the Semites,
then the region that naturally detaches itself as the probable Indo-
European cradle-land is no doubt South Russia, specially as Xndo-
Finnic relations were decidedly more intimate.

The evidence of linguistic palaeontology need not be considered
in detail, since Schrader did that with masterly thoroughness in his
well-known works;72 but it is important to remember that the region
to which he assigned the Indo-European original home after his
epoch-making researches is also South Russia. The argument that
has been most persistently levelled against Schrader is the so-called
beech-argument: since the beech was known to the Indo-Europeans,

216

THE ARYAN PROBLEM

it is argued, their original home must have been “to the west of a
line drawn from Konigsberg in Prussia to the Crimea and continued
thence through Asia Minor,”73 for the beech does not grow to the
east of the line. But there is absolutely no certainty that the Indo-
European word *bhagos, from which the English word “beech” is
very probably derived, also signified the thing designated by this
English word “beech.” Moreover, the word for “beech” seems to
have been confined only to the western Indo-Europeans, for there
is no trace of it in any eastern dialect if the late Kurdish' word
buz 74 is left out of consideration. In spite of the enormous increase
in knowledge since the days of Schrader it would be best, therefore,
to adhere to his conclusion that South Russia, more than any other
region, can claim to be regarded as the cradle-land of the Aryans
( = Indo-Europeans).

1. Collected Works, New Impression, 1898, Vol. X (The Home of the Aryas), p. 90.

2. Origines Aricae, 1883, p. 6.

3. See Plato’s Cratyhis and Christ’s Geschichte der Griechischen Litteratur ,
fiinfte Auflage von Withclm Schmid, erster Toil, Miinchen 1909, p. 639.

4. Penka’s own arguments are of only historical interest today and need not be
discussed. The chief exponent of Penka’s theory of the Germanic home of
the Jndo-Euroneans 'in modern times was Gustav Kossinna. A brief summary
of his theory has been given by Gordon Childe (Th-e Aryans , pp. 166 ff.). It
may be mentioned that most of the articles on Indo-Euronean origins in the
Hirt. -Festschrift (Heidelberg, 1936) are from Kossinna’s school.

5. Given up in Euroue since it was discovered that Sanskrit does not give the
truest picture of the original Indo-European.

6. In this chapter the word “Aryan” has been used in the sense of “Indo-
European.”

7. For Mohenio-daro cf. Ch. IX.

8. Ch. IX, p. 197.

9. In the oldest ritual texts every care is taken not to mention directly the name
of this terrible god. He is indirectly referred to as “this god” or “the god
whose name contains the word bhuta or posy.” (i.e., Bhutapati, Pasupati). The
name occurring in a Rigvedic verse (II. 3. I) was purposely pronounced as
Rndriya (Ait. Br., Ill, 3. 9-10). From the curious remarks made in Ait. Br.,
III. 3. 10 it also appears that the reading of RV, II. 3. Ic was originally abhi
vah. etc.: but it was later altered so as not to give Rudra a pretext to rush to
the place of sacrifice. Arbrnan in his dissertation on Rudra. (Uppsala, 1922)
has made it. probable that in respect of this god the later ritual texts give a
more faithful picture of the popular beliefs of the Rigvedic age than the
Rir/veda itself.

10. See Keith. RPVU, HOS.. Vol. 31, p. 145. Precisely the same was the attitude
of the Greeks towards their apotropaeic foreign goddess Hekate (see Nilsson,
Greek Religion, p. 204).

11. See Jane Ellen Harrison, Frolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion, second
edition, pn. 8 ff.

12. Cf. Ch. IX, pp. 191, 196 ff.

13. This date of the Gath. as and their author Zarathustra has been maintained —
against indigenous Iranian tradition — by Ed. Meyer who declared it to be one
of the incomprehensible things in history that anyone should consider Zara-
thustra's patron Vistaspa to have been the same person as the father of Darius
I. So also Bartholomae, Zarathustras Leben und Lehre, pp. 10-11. For full
literature on this point up to 1932 see Die Iranier in Kulturgeschichte des Alten
Orients (Arthur Christensen), p. 213.

14. V’alther Wiist who in recent times has tried most to push back the age of the
Rigvcda admits nevertheless that the Mohenjo-daro culture is not Indo-
European and must have passed away before the Aryans occupied India
' WZKM, xxxrv, pp. 173, 190). Cf. the views of Dr. S. K. Chatteiji in Ch.
VIII, p. 160 ff.

217

THE VEDIC AGE

15. See Jenson, SPAW, 1919, pp. 367 if., Forrer, ZDMG ; 1922; pp. 254 ff., CHI,
I, 72; CAH , II, 13.

16. See Arthur Christensen, op. cit., p. 209, fn. 6.

17. E.G., Skt. Indra but Hit. In-ta-ra; Skt. Varuna but Hit. U-ru-van-a. These
gods were worshipped not by the indigenous Mitanni people who were n^ri-
Indo-European in speech, but by their Aryan rulers known as Maryanni. The
word maryanni may be connected with Rigvedic marya.

18. Vol. II, p. 13.

19. See next chapter.

20. See Eduard Meyer, Geschichte des Altertums, third edition, Vol. I, § 468.

21. These names have been fully discussed by Mironov in Acta Orientalia. Vol.
XI, pp. 140 if. For a helpful criticism of Mironov’s equations and etymologies
see Keith, Woolner Comm. Vol., pp. 137 ff.

22. See Eduard Meyer, op. cit., Vol. I, § 456..

23. Iran in the Ancient East, 1941, p. 182.

24. Die lndogermanen , Vol. I, p. 118.

25. Geschichte des Altertums, II, I, second edition, 1928, p. 35.

26. The same view has been expressed much more emphatically also by Herzfeld
(op. cit., pp. 191-2) only with this difference — which is perhaps a necessary
corrective to Meyer’s theory — that the original Indo-Iranian common home
was situated in Russian Turkestan and not in the Pamir region.

27. To admit that Vedic culture began about 1500 B.C. does not of course mean
that the Rigvedic language as known to us is to be dated so early. On the
contrary it suggests that the Rigvedic language assumed its present, form at a
considerably later period, probably about 1000 B.C., as suggested above on
linguistic grounds.

28. For the first time in SB A, 1908, pp. 14 ff,. then again in KZ 1909, pp. I ff.,
and often later; Freiherr von Eickstedt. as quoted by Nehring in his Studien zur
indogermanisclien Kultur und Urh-eimat, p. 227. considers Kazakstan to have
been the common home of the Indo-Iranians; but he dees not seem to have
taken into consideration the possibility of a back-surge of the eastern Indo-
Europeans.

29. JR AS, 1909, pp. 1095 ff.

30. Modi Memorial Volume . 1930, pp. 81 ff. Some scholars have expressed the
view that the Aryans of Mitanni were Indians pure and simple; cf. Jacobi.
JRAS, 1919, pp. 721 ff., Jensen. SBA, 1919: pp. 467 ff., Sturtevant, Yale Classical
Studies, I, pp. 215 ff.

31. See Ebert’s Reallexikon der V or geschichte, Vol. I, 1924, p. 137. But Friedrich
has adopted a non-committal attitude in this regard in his article “Das erste
Auftreten der lndogermanen” in Hirt-Festschrift, Vol. II.

32. Hirt-Festschrift, Vol. II, p. 37.

33. See my article in 1C, XI, pp. 147-60. particularly pp. 155-6: cf. also Johannes
Friedrich, Geschichte der Indogermanischen Sprachicissenschaft. II, 5, p. 42.
Nehring’s speculations about the Luvians ( Studien zur lndogermanischen
Kultur und Urheimat, p. 37) are inconclusive; his assertion that the earliest
culture of Troy (c. 3000 B.C.) was certainly Indo-European l foe. cit.) seems
to be an unproved assumption.

34. Sturtevant, A Comparative Grammar of the Hittite Language, p. 29.

35. Kulturgeschichte des Alien Orients, dritter Abschnitt, erste Licferung. 1933,
p. 76.

36. Schachermeyr, too, admits that the Hittites probably entered Asia Minor about
2000 B.C. (Hirt-Festschrift, Vol. I. p. 234).

37. Kulturgeschichte des Alien Orients dritter Abschnitt, erste Lieferung, p. 48.

38. Schachermeyr, Hirt-Festschrift.. Vol. I. p. 235.

39. Reich und Kultur der Chetiter , p. 234.

40. For a pretty complete survey of the problems connected with Tocharian, see
S-chwentner, Geschichte der indogermanisclien Sprachicissenschaft, zweiter
Teil, fvinfter Band, Lieferung 2, Leipzig, 1935.

41. See Hirt-Festschrift . Vol. II. pp. 227-40.

42. Die lndogermanen, Vol. I, p. 183.

43. The split is caused by the difference in the treatment of certain k and g
sounds. Certain dialects keep these sounds but others change them into
sibilants.

44. The theories associated with the names of Schleicher and Schmidt will be found
explained in many text-books and need not be discussed here.

45. So also Hirt, Dte hidogermanes. Vol I. p. 125. Niederle most emphatically
asserts that the Lithuanians are still living; in their original home on the Baltic
( Manuel de V Antiquitc Slave, Tome I: Historia, p. 13).

218

THE. ARYAN PROBLEM

46. Op. cit., p. 121.

47. Bronze Age Greece, p. 288.

48. Op. cit., p. 249. Some scholars, however, still maintain that the Mycenaeans
were identical with the Achaians and therefore spoke Greek.

49. It is important to remember that the Akaivasha (=Achaians?) are mentioned
for the first time in 1229 B.C. in the Egyptian records, and the Danauna
( —Horn. Danaians?) in 1192, B.C. (see Gordon Childe, The Aryans , pp. 72-73).
Meillet seems to have considered the Akaivasha of the Egyptians, the Alihijava
of the Hittite texts, the Achm(v)oi of Homer and the Achivi of the Latins
to have been one. and the same people (Aperqu d’une Histoire de la Langue
Grecquc, third edition, 1930, p. 57). Cf. also Schwyzer, Griechische Grammatik
Vol. I, p. 46.

50. Practically all that can be said in favour of a Germanic home will be found in
the two volumes of the Hirt-F estschrift, Heidelberg, 1936.

51. Origines Aricac, p. 5.

52. It is curious to note that both Penka (Op. cit., p. 56) and Tilak (see his Arctic
Home in the Vedas), independently of each other, arrived at the conclusion
that the original home of the Aryans was situated in the polar region. Penka
depended on the evidence of Odyssey X, 81-6, where short nights are spoken
of. In the Vedic literature there are indeed passages which may suggest that
the Vedic Aryans actually knew of the never-setting polar sun. For instance,
Aitarnya Brahmana , III. 4.6: sava esha na kaddehana ’stam eti no * deti , etc.
But it is quite clear that the author .of the Aitareya Brahmana is here only
speaking of an astronomical discovery— remarkable for the age — that the sun
actually does not “rise” or “set.”

53. The racists apart, whose chief preoccupation is to try to prove that the Indo-
Europeans were of Nordic stock.

34. Much, D»c Hcimal. der Indogcrmanen tin Lichte der urgeschichtUchen Fors
chung, second edition, 1904.

55. Gordon Childe, Wiener Beilrage Zur Kulturgeschichte und Linguistik, Jahrgang
IV, Die IndogermtLnen und Germanenjrage, 1936, p. 526.

5G. Ilirt-Festschrijt. Vol. I, pp. 19, 24, 37. Rosenberg, Kulturstromungen in Europa
zur Steinzcit , Kopcnhagcn, 1931, pp. II ff.

57. So Nehring, Studien zur indoge rtnanischen Kultur und Urheimat, pp. 27, 59-61.

58. Ur sprung der Gcrmanen, p. 120.

59. Gcrmancntum und Alteuropa , p. 166.

60. Substratlheorie und Urheimat der Indogeramanen. Mitteilungen der Anthropolo -
gischen Gescllschajt , LXVI, 1936, pp. 69-91.

61. Quotation by Pittioni, Wiener Beitrage zur Kulturgeschichte und Linguistik,
Jahrgang IV, 1936. p. 531.

62. CHI, I, 66.

63. “Isogloss” means “a linguistic innovation common to two or more groups of the
same family of languages.”

64. Mahabhashya ad Panini II. 2.6: gaurah suchyachgrah kapilah pihgalakesa ity
=endn=api abhyantardn brdhmanye gundn kurvanti.

65. Die erste indogcrmanir.chc Wandcrung, Wien, 1936. Brnndenslcin’s ingenious
theory of an early Indo-European home in the Kirghiz steppe and a later Indo-
European home in eastern Poland has not been accepted by Nehring ( Studien
zur i'.irlogCrmnnischen Kultur nvd Urheimat . p. 28, fn.) who has promised
( for. cit.) to give his reasons for rejecting Brandcnstcin’s theory in a future

pUUiU'.tliOJi.

G6. flirt. Die Indogcrmanen , Vol. I, p. 72; Nehring, Studien zur indogermanischen
Kultur und Urheimat, pp. 21-2.

67. Hirt ^Festschrift, Vol. I. p. 124.

68. KZ, Vol. XLII, pp. 175-9.

09. Vcrgleichendcs indogemiauisch'-semitischcs Wbrterbuch, pp. xiii f.

70. Sec Albert Schott, Hirt-Festschrift, Vol. II, pp. 93-4.

71. Vcrglcichendcs indogcrmanisch-semitischcs Wortcrbuch, p. xvi.

72. Sprachverglcichung und Urgeschichte, second edition, Jena 1890; ReaUexikon
der Indogermanischen Altertumskunde, second edition by Nehring in two vols,
Berlin and Leipzig. 1917-1929.

73. So Giles, CHI, I. 68. It is dilficult to find a single positive argument in favour
cl Giles’ Hungarian home theory.

74. According to Barlhclomac (lndogermanische Forschungen, Vol. IX, p. 271) this
Kurdish word may be connected with “bcec/i.”

219

THE VEDIC AGE
APPENDIX1

The theory of the indigenous origin of the Aryans has been
advocated by a number of scholars. MM, Ganganath Jha has tried
to prove that the original home was the Brahmarshi-desa.2 D. S.
Triveda suggests that the original home of the Aryans was in the
region of the river Devika in Multan.3 L. D. Kalla advocates the
claims of Kashmir and the Himalayan region.4 The various argu¬
ments in favour of this view may be summed up as follows:

1. There is no evidence to show that the Vedic Aryans were
foreigners or that they migrated into India within traditional me¬
mory. Sufficient literary materials are available to indicate with
some degree of certainty, that the Vedic Aryans themselves regarded
Sapta-Sindhu as their original home ( devakrita-yoni or devanirmita -
des<£).

Migrating races look back to the land of their origin for cen¬
turies. The Parsis in India remember their origin after eight hundred
years. The ancient Egyptians and the Phoenicians remembered their
respective lands of origin even though they had forgotten their
location. The Vedic Aryans, if at all they came from outside, there¬
fore, must have lived in Sapta-Sindhu so many centuries before the
Vedic period that they had lost all memory of an original home.5

2. The linguistic affinities are not positive proofs of Aryan
immigration. The Vedic Sanskrit has the largest number of vocables
found in the Aryan languages. These are preserved in the lan¬
guages of the Sanskritic family in different parts of India even
when there has been inter-racial contact for centuries. On the
other hand, if the pre-Vedic Aryan language was spoken in different
parts of Europe and Asia where the Aryans had settled before Coming
to India, how is it that only a few vocables are left in the present-
day speech of those parts, while the largest number of them is
found in the distant places of ultimate settlement and racial ad¬
mixture in India? On the contrary this disparity can easily be
explained if the pre-Vedic was the language of the homeland of
Aryans and the other Aryan languages came into existence as a
result of the contact between migrating Aryans and non-Aryan
elements outside India and Persia.6

3. The Vedic literature is the earliest extant record of the
Aryan mind. How is it that in the course of their journey to the
Sapta-Sindhu the Aryans left no such record elsewhere? This absence
of literary records in other countries cannot be explained away by a
hypothesis that the Aryans only reached a high stage of cultural evolu¬
tion in India. But we can satisfactorily explain it if we suppose that
the Aryans migrated from India, and the migration being only of the
superfluous population of roving tribes without great cultural
development, they could net impart the literary and cultural
tradition to the counties in which they ultimately settled?7

220

THE ARYAN PROBLEM*

4. The sacrificial rituals had long been established before the
compliation of the Samhita. Therefore the home of Soma, the Muja-
vant or Munjavant hills in the north of the Punjab, indicates the
locality from which the sacrificial rituals developed.1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

5. It is often argued that Lithuanian being the most archaic
in the Aryan family of languages, Lithuania is likely to be the ori¬
ginal home of the Aryans. But a language remains archaic even
when the persons using it are unprogressive; or if they remain in a
locality where no fusion is possible with races speaking other lan¬
guages; or if they develop a highly refined technique for preserving
and using archaic forms. The first two conditions are probably res¬
ponsible for the archaic character of Lithuanian.9

6. It is argued that the tiger, a native of the Bengal swamps,
is not mentioned in the Rigveda, but the place of honour is given
to the lion. Similarly the elephant, mentioned as the mrigahastin ,
shows that it was a novelty.10 These arguments do not carry much
weight in view of the fact that the Harappa civilization of the Indus
Valley shows little trace of the lion (supposed to be common in the
desert of Rajputana) but is fully conversant with the worship of
the tiger and the elephant as indicated by the seals. If in about
3000 B.C, the elephant and the tiger were so well known in the
Punjab, it is absurd to suppose that they disappeared so completely
as not to be mentioned in the Rigveda in c. 1500 B.C. The word
mriga-hastin is merely a poetic term and does not imply novelty.
In the same way the word parvatagiri, used for a mountain in the
same Rigveda , clearly does not mean that mountains were strange
to the Vedic peoples. Again it is said that rice is not mentioned in
the Rigveda. Even so, salt is never mentioned in the Rigveda.
Can we conclude that the consumption of salt was unknown in the
Rigvedic times? Rice seems to have been unknown in the Harappa
civilization also. This only proves that yava (barley) and wheat
w^ere the staple cereals of North-West India.

7. The geographical data of the Rigvedaf as analysed in Ch.
Xni, clearly show that the Punjab and the neighbouring regions
constituted the home of the people who composed these hymns.
There is no good ground for the belief that they or their ancestors
lived in any other country.

1. This Appendix is based on a long note on the subiect prepared bv Prof. S.
Srikanta Spstri and most of the arguments are advanced by Mr. K. M. Munshi
in Glory that tr as Gurjaradaxa, X, Section II.

2. Acharya Pushvanjali (=D. R. Bhandarkar Comm. Vol.), pp. 1-2.

3. ABOni. XX. 48 ff.

4. POC, VI, 723-4.

5. Munshi. op. cit., 46.

6. Ibid., 81.

7. Ibid.. 82. ,

8. Cf. KHDS. II, Part I, pp. 11-16.'

9. Munshi, op. cit.. 83.

10. CHI, I, 81.

221

CHAPTER XI

INDO- IRANIAN RELATIONS

It has been shown in the preceding chapter that the undivided
Indo-Iranians, as suggested by their already specifically characte-
terized Satem dialect, must have left their original Indo-European
home after the Hitiites and the proto-Tocharians, but be¬
fore any other Indo-European tribe. After some wanderings they
settled down in what may be called the Indo-Iranian original home
which was situated in the Pamir region (Eduard Meyer) or more
probably in the plains of the Oxus and Jaxartes (Ernst Herzfeld).
The latter says: “From time immemorial, at least from the third
millennium down to the middle of the second, the Aryans inhabited,
as an undivided ethnical group, the vast plains of the Oxus and
Jaxartes, the land Erfinvcj of the two rivers Vahvl-Datiya and
Ranha/M It is also quite clear that the Aryan principalities appear¬
ing about 1400 B.C. in Mesopotamia and Syria were “the success¬
ful creation of a group of condottieri and their troops who had de¬
tached themselves from the main body, while the wandering tribes
passed through eastern Iran towards India/'2

The undivided Indo-Iranians must have passed a long time in
their Central Asian common home, for here grew up a specific Indo-
Iranian culture and religion that may be reconstructed, at least
partially, by comparing the Veda with the Avesta. Before the
occupation of the Iranian plateau by tribes from the Indo-Iranian
original home, the high land, to all appearance, was the seat of a
culture that was probably matriarchal, and the people worshipped
snake-gods like the primitive non-Aryans of India. It is very pro¬
bable, therefore, that the pre-Aryan cultures of North-West India
and Iran were of the same spirit and origin.3

This old cultural link between pre- Aryan Iran and pre-Aryan
India, instead of being strengthened as a result of the migration of
the Aryans into these two countries, as could be normally expected,
was to all appearance completely severed, for there is nothing to
show that the Vedic Aryans of India maintained an active cultural
relation with their brethren in Iran.

In the earliest days the Aryans of India must have been con¬
nected with the Aryans of Iran, either as friends or as foes, but
“actual historical contact cannot be asserted with any degree of
probability/’4 The two peoples turned their backs upon each other as
it were, and developed their distinctive civilizations apparently with¬
out the least mutual influence, although in language,^ culture and re¬
ligion their similarity in the earliest period was little short of identity.

'>'>-)

*•

INDO-IRANIAN RELATIONS

When later in history,6 under the Achaemenids, Greeks, Bactrians,
and Sakas, the Iranians and the Indians were forced to meet as
citizens of the same empire, they met as complete strangers, not
as cousins of the same family.

Geographical barriers are no doubt to some extent responsible
for this apparent mutual oblivion, as also the fact that from the
Indo-Iranian common home the pre-Indians and the pre-Iranians
expanded in two almost opposite directions. All this, however,
cannot explain the complete cessation of cultural contact between
Iran and India even as early as the Kigvedic age. The Iranians
had retained a distinct memory of the Indo-Iranian common home
(Eranvej) in their mythology, but the Indo-Aryans, who must have
developed their distinctively Indian Rigvedic culture about 1500
B.C. at the latest, have nothing to say on this point. It is indeed
difficult to get away from the idea that the silence maintained by
the earliest Vedic Indians on Iran and the Iranians was at least
partly intentional, for some of the geographical names prove beyond
doubt that the period of immigration had not been so long as to
have completely obliterated all memory of the land they left be¬
hind. Thus the names Rasa, Sarasvati and Bahllka. not to speak
of others, must have been brought to India from Tran by the Aryans
and applied to two Indian rivers and one Indian province.7 The
reticence maintained by the Vedic Aryans about immigration from
Indo-Irania was, therefore, at least partly intentional, for other¬
wise it would seem that those parts of the Rigveda in which possible
or probable Iranian names occur, were composed already in Iran, as
Hillebrandt actually suggested.8

Incompatibility of some sort between the earliest Aryans of
India and Iran has to be assumed to explain this camouflaged indif¬
ference, and it is also clear that this incompatibility was the cause
of their divergent movements from their common home and ulti¬
mately destroyed the cultural unity between Iran and India of the
pre-Aryan days. Seeds of such incompatibility which later deve¬
loped into mutual hostility can be clearly seen already in the oldest
Aryan religion and cult of these two* countries. The primitive
Indo-European religion recognized only nature-gods (sky, sun, wind,
etc.) and a fire-cult.® But already the undivided Indo-Iranians
knew a soma-cult beside the older fire-cult, and abstract deities10
beside the older nature-gods. Indo-Iranian society had therefore
ceased to be Culturally homogeneous even before the forefathers of
the Indian and Iranian Aryans parted company, and it is hardly to
be doubted that their parting was more the effect th^n the cause
of the cultural contrast revealed in religion. The old Indo-European
term *deivo (= Indo-Iranian *daiva) was apparently considered in¬
appropriate for the new abstract and ethical deities, and a new term,
A sura, perhaps borrowed from a higher civilization,11 came to be

223

THE VEDIC AGE

used as their designation. Varinja was the chief of these ethical
deities just as Indra was the chief of the older nature-gods.12

The fact that about 1400 B.C., in the well-known treaty-record
discovered at Boghaz-koi, the Daiva-gods Indra and Nasatya appear
side by side with the Asura-gods Varuna and Mitra, clearly sug¬
gests, as Christensen13 has pointed out, that the antagonism bet¬
ween the worshippers of the Daiua-gods and the Asura-gods — which
is the central feature of early Indo-Iranian history — had not yet
broken out. But it was in full blast long before the advent of Zara-
thustra whose Gathas should be dated about 1000 B.C. on linguistic
grounds, as shown in the preceding chapter.

The antagonism between the worshippers of the new gods and
the old must have been one of the main causes of the estrangement
and subsequent secession of those Aryans who later conquered India,
but their antagonism was not confined to the field of religion alone.
Christensen14 has suggested that the Asura-religion was practised
by the more cultured and steadier elements of the primitive Indo-
Iranian society whose chief occupation was agriculture and cattle-
breeding, while the older Daiva-religion continued to find favour
with the more vigorous but less civilized portions of the people to
whom the primitive predatory habits were more congenial: the
former were content to remain behind in Iran, but the latter, urged
by the spirit of adventure, advanced farther east and at last entered
India. But all of those who remained behind were not AsvCra-
worshippers, nor all of those who braved the hardships of the for¬
ward march into India were adherents of the Daiva-religion. The
Daiua-inscription of Xerxes,15 discovered in 1935, clearly shows
that even so -late as the fifth century B.C. Daiva^ worship had to be
forcibly suppressed within the Achaemenian empire. And in India
we meet with the curious situation that in the oldest period all the
great gods received the title Asura as a decorative epithet, though
later it came to be used exclusively as a term of abuse. In innu¬
merable passages in the Brahmanas the Asuras have been represent¬
ed as superior to the Devas in the arts of civilized life, and both in
Vedic16 and Puranic tradition they are regarded as the elder bro¬
thers of the gods. They are as far above the Ddsas and Rakshasas
as the Devas themselves.

All things considered, it seems difficult to deny that along with
the great horde of Daiua-worshipping Ai’yans came to India also a
culturally superior strong minority of Asura -worshippers, whose
cult and religion was slightly different from that of the former and
who were for that reason ceaselessly cursed and condemned, by the
Vedic Aryans, more out of jealousy, it would seem, than Out of
contempt. For if the Vedic Aryans intentionally suppressed all
reminiscence of the Indo-Iranian original home, as suggested above,
would they not also have suppressed the memory of the Asura*

INDO-IRANIAN RELATIONS

worshippers in the same way if they could? But this they could not,
because some Asura-worshippers were physically present among them.

The earliest Indo-Aryan society, too, like the earliest Indo-
Iraman society, was therefore not quite homogeneous culturally.
It was predominantly — but not exclusively — Daivic, while the con¬
temporary Iranian society was predominantly Asuric. After a
period of conflict and adaptation there was peace which proved
successful to the extent that even the foremost of the Daiva-gods,
namely Indra, not only came to be regarded as an Asura in the
oldest parts of the I iigveda, but was also credited with possessing
mdyd, which was a special property of the Asuras and probably
signified “magical power.” 1 7 It is hardly an accident that in Hindu
mythology the architect of the gods is an Asura whose name is Maya:
the rude Daiva- worshippers apparently regarded the superior arts
and crafts of their rivals as achieved by magic.

In spite of the Daiva-bias of the Indians and the Asura-bias of
the Iranians their culture and religion continued to be essentially
the same till the advent of Zarathustra in Iran. Zarathustra’s posi¬
tion is more or less analogous to that of the Buddha in India and
Orpheus in Greece, both of whom protested effectively against the
ceremonial slaughter of animals in the name of religion, but not by
far so vehemently as Zarathustra.18 In his Gathas Zarathustra
condemns in bitter terms the orgiastic festivities at which the Daiva -
worshippers, inebriated with Soma, offer bloody sacrifices to their
gods, extinguishing amidst shouts of revelry the life of the innocent
bull.13 It is clear that the ritual practices against which Zara¬
thustra directed his homilies closely resembled those of the Vedas.
A large number of common cult-words such as haoma (= soma),
zaotar ( = hota), athravan ( = atharvan), rnanthra ( = mantra),
yazata (= yajata ), yasna (— yajna), dzuiti (— ahuti), etc., and also
the whole sacrificial cult, leave no doubt that Vedic and Avestan
ritual are of one and the same origin.20 Evidently, the Zarathus-
trian reform could not materially alter the essentially Vedic cha¬
racter of the Soma cult cherished in Iran from ages before his time.

In the field of religion and mythology, however, Zarathustra
was more successful. But here, too, the points of similarity are
striking enough to prove previous identity. The ceremony of Upa-
nayana is practically the same in the Veda and the Avesta, and in
both the conventional number of gods is the same, namely thirty-
three. Both in the Veda and the Avesta the picture of the gods
is primarily that of an heroic Aryan warrior riding in a chariot
drawn by powerful steeds. Like the Vedic gods those of the
Avesta too hold up the sky to prevent its falling down, and image-
worship is equally unknown in the Avesta and the Vedac Varuija,
like his Avestan opposite number Ahura, assisted by Mitra (Aves¬
tan Mithra), is the supreme guardian of moral law, and the concep-

225

THE VEDIC AGE

tion of cosmic order is represented in both by the same abstract
deny, tne Vedic Kiia =. Avesian Asa.21 Even the notorious dis¬
crepancy between the Vedic and Avestan Indra will disappear if
the history of this god, as reconstructed by Benveniste and Renou,22
is kept in view. Their ingenious theory may be summarized as
follows: In the Indo-Iranian epoch there were two different gods,
Indra23 and Vjritrahan (vritra = resistance, vritrahan = resistance-
breaker). Indra was nothing but a concrete personalization of mere
physical prowess, known in the legends of most primitive civilizations,
but he was too Daivic to suit the taste of the stern reformer Zarathus-
tra who did not hesitate to send him to Hades. But the Lord
Resistance-breaker, i.e. Vrioragna, whose function it was to break
the resistance put up by evil, continued his glorious career within
the Iranian pantheon. Indra and Vritrahan were united in the
same person only later in the Vedic age. In short, Vedic Indra is
the Indo-Iranian Indra (mentioned at Boghaz-koi) plus Vritrahan.
whereas Avestan Indra is the Indo-Iranian Indra minus Vritrahan.
There is no discrepancy, therefore, between Vedic Indra and Aves¬
tan Indra if it is remembered that the history of Indra is in reality
the history of two different gods who influenced each other in two
different ways in Iran and India.

The Nasatyas who in the Boghaz-koi inscription are mentioned
side by. side with Indra and Varuna also appear in the Avesta,
though as a demon24 like Indra, and even the minor Vedic god
Apam-napat is represented in the Avesta by a god of the same name.
To the Vedic Gandharva corresponds the Avestan Gandarowa, and
to the Vedic Kjrisanu the Avestan Korasani.2 In the Veda, Yama,
the son of Vivasvat, is the ruler of the dead, in the Avesta, Yima,
the son of Vivanhant, is the ruler of paradise.26 Examples can be
multiplied to show that in spite of the Zara thus trian reform, the
Iranian religion continued to be much the same as before. On the
whole it seems that Zarathustra’s reform was not so much a break
with the past as a determined and partly successful effort to re¬
assert the principles of the old Asura religion by ridding it of all
Daivic contaminations.27 This is suggested pointedly by the curi¬
ous fact that not content with consigning to Hades the prominent
Daiuc-gods like Indra, he changed the name also of the chief Asura -
god Varuna into Ahura Mazdah.28 That Zarathustra dropped the
name while retaining and raising to the highest honour the persona¬
lity of this god is apparently because in the previous age — at the
time of the Boghaz-koi tablets at any rate — he had lived in the
corrupt company of the Daiua-god Indra. For a similar reason
Zarathustra avoided the word Baga “god” of Indo-European origin,
though it occurs in the pre-Zarathustrian parts of the Avesta and
in the Old Persian inscriptions,29 for an Indo-European word of
religious connotation could not but have Daivic associations.

226

INDO-IRANIAN RELATIONS

So long as it was believed that the Gathas, because oldest in
language, give also the oldest picture of the Aryan civilization of
Iran, it was by no means possible to see that the society described
in Hie Veda and the Avesta is essentially the same. But it has now
been fully established that the civilization of the Gathas is a later
reformed civilization of Iran, of which a much older phase is re*
fleeted in the Ya£ts, particularly the so-called heathenish YaSts, i.e.
the Ya&ts which have suffered least from Zarathustrian revision.30
And the culture reflected in these pre-Zarathustrian heathenish
YaSts is essentially that of Vedic India. The very Haoma-cult, which
is rightly regarded as the chief indicator of Indo-Irani&n cultural
unity, is not only pre-Zarathustrian but definitely anti-Zarathus-
triad, and could be retained in -the post-Zarathustrian religion of
Iran only because the prophet — clearly out of policy— did not speci¬
fically mention Soma in prohibiting intoxicating drinks: from this
omission it was argued by Avestan theologians that all other intoxi¬
cants are impure, but not Haoma.31 Benveniste has demonstrated
that the Persian religion of the Achaemenian age, as described by
Herodotus, agrees not at all well with that of the Gathas, but shows
significant points of similarity with the Vedic religion.32

The notorious difference in burial customs between Iran and
India entirely vanishes on scrutiny. The custom of exposing dead
bodies in dakmos, which is unknown in India, was not of Persian
origin, but a Median custom confined to the Magi. It became the
customary, funeral rite of Iran only in the Arsacidan age, and is men¬
tioned for the first time in the Videvdat, a product of the Arsacidan
period. The Achaemenian monarchs, whose Zarathustrianism can¬
not be seriously doubted, were placed in elaborate grave-chambers
after death, and it is nowhere recorded that the corpse of any one
of those mighty emperors had been thrown to birds and beasts.33

The ancient Aryan culture of Iran was thus hardly distin¬
guishable from the ancient Aryan culture of India. And that is as
it should be, for both were derived from one and the same Indo-
Iranian culture.

1. Iran in the Ancient East, 1941, p. 190.

2. Op. cit., p. 19?.

3. Op. cit., pp. II, 177.

4. Ved. Ind., I, p. 505.

5. Linguistic affinity between the earliest Aryans of India and Irfin has been dis¬
cussed bv the present writer in Linguistic Introduction to Sanskrit pp. 28-47
and 1C, Vn, pp. 343-59.

6. For the history of later Ir.do-Iranian relations see CHI, I, pp. 323 ff.

7. See Vedic Index under these three names. Zimmer wa* even of opinion that
Vedic Rasa directly refers to Iranian Ranha, i.e. Jaxartes (AL, p. 18).

8. Ved. Myth., first ed., Vol. I, pp. 99 £F.; Vol. HI, pp. 372-8. Older attempt* to
read :~anian history and geography in the Veda have been briefly dealt with
by Jackson in CHI, Vol. I, pp. 322 ff., and more recently by Keith in Woobier

Comm. Vol. (1940). 4

9. Cf. the fire.: of the Prytaneia in Greece, Vestal fire of Rome, G&rh^patya fire
of India (K^ith, RPVU, II, pp. 625-6).

227

THE VEDIC AGE

10. Like Vedic #ita ;= Av. Asa (to be pronounced ana, from arta).

11. As I have suggested elsewhere (IC, VII, p. 330), this term is probably nothing
but the personal designation of the tutelary deity of Assyria used as a generic
name by the Indo-Ir&nians who must have come in direct or indirect contact
with the Assyrians during the period of Kassite ascendancy, for the Kassttes
on the one hand borrowed from the Indo-Iranians the w°ra surya and on the
other conquered Assyria. Cf. Thomas, JR AS , 1916, pp. 362-6.

12. Varuna was originally a nature-god no doubt, since the equation Skt. Varupazr
Gr. Ouranos has to be accepted (see Keith, IC, in, p. 421). Yet the natural*
basis of this god had been usurped by Dyaus pitd = Zeus pater already in
Indo-European times, and as a result he became a pronounced ethical god.
Vanina’s associate Mitra, too, was originally a nature-deity — a sun-god — as I
h,ave tried to show before (IC, ELI, p. 63), but he too had to lose his natural;
basis to the more powerful Sikrya.

13. Kulturgeschichte des Alien Orients , p. 211.

14. Op. cit., pp. 211-12.

15. See Sukumar Sen, Old Persian Inscriptions, pp. 148-56.

16. See Keith, RPVU, II, p. 457.

17. See IC, VII, pp. 61-62. Benveniste has shown that the conception of AfdyA, by
means of which Indra and his Iranian opposite number Vri^ragna could assume
different forms at will, dates from the Indo-Iraxlian epoch (Vrtra et Vr&raana ,
pp. 32 ff., 194).

18. Iranian tradition would make Zara thus tra more or less a contemporary of
Buddha and Orpheus (if, as is generally thought, they were historical persons),
but according to Eduard Meyer (Geschichte des AUertums , second edition, third
volume, p. 110, fn. 3) it is an inexplicable thing that anybody should think so.
That Eauard Meyer was right can be hardly doubted, although weighty opinions
have been raised against his view. The mention by Assurbanipal about 700 B.C.
of Assara Masai along with seven good angels and seven bad. spirits is a clear
indication of acquaintance with the reformed Zarathustrian pantheon (see
CHI, I, p. 76). It is impossible therefore to suggest that the Kavi ViStaspa men¬
tioned in. the Avesta as the patron of the prophet was no other than the father
of Darius I (522-486 B.C.), for in that case the Zarathustrian pantheon could
not have been known in Assyria in the days of Assurbanipal.

19. See Christensen, op. cit., p. 220.

20. See Hillebrandt, RUuaUitteratur, 8 2.

21. See footnote 10.

22. In Vftra et VrSragna, Paris, 1934.

23. The name of this god is to be derived from Hittite inner — “strength.”

24. Avestan Naonhaithya , to be pronounced Nohaithya,

25. To be pronounced Kpiani.

26. See M&cdonell, VM, 8 5.

27. -I expressed a different view in IC, VII, p. 338.

28. Darmesteter has aptly said that Ahura Mazdah is no more different from Varuna
than Zeus is from Jupiter ( SBE , IV, p. lit).

29. See Herzfeld, Altpersische Inschriften, p. 106.

30. See Christensen, op. cit., pp. 214 ff.

31. Op. cit., p. 229.

32. The Persian Religion, Ratanbai Katr&k Lectures, Paris 1929, pp. 32 ff.

33. See Herzfeld, Iran in the Ancient East, 1941, pp. 216-17.

228

CHAPTER XII

VEDIC LITERATURE-GENERAL VIEW

Our knowledge of the Indo-Aryans is based on the evidence of
Vedic literature, of which the chief constituents are the four collec¬
tions known as the fligveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda , and Atharva -
veda. Not a single work of the Vedic period can be accurately
dated. On linguistic grounds the language of the fligveda, the
oldest Veda* may be said to be of about 1000. B.C.,1 but its contents
may be — and certainly are in the oldest parts — of much more an¬
cient date, and its latest parts, resembling Atharvanic charms, are
as surely of much later origin. This Fligveda is neither an historical
nor an heroic poem, but mainly a collection ( samhita ) of hymns by a
number of priestly families, recited or chanted by them with appro¬
priate solemnity at sacrifices to the gods. Naturally it is poor in
historical data. The Samaveda hardly counts at all as an independ¬
ent text (see below). The Samhitas of the Yajurveda, if the Brah-
raaoa portions of the schools of the Black Yajurveda are left out of
account, are nothing but collections of short magic spells used by a
certain class of priests at the sacrifices. For the history of the
Indian people of the Vedic age the Atharvaveda is certainly the
most important and interesting of the four Samhitas, describing,
as it does, the popular beliefs and superstitions of the humble folk,
as yet only partly subjugated by Brahmanism.

Next to the Samhitas are the Brahmaj^as, an arid desert of
puerile speculations on ritual ceremonies. They mark the lowest
ebb of Vedic culture. The Upanishads were at least partially the
result of a popular protest against the soulless ritualism of the
Brahmanas, as was also the rise of sects like the Vaishpavas, Jainas,
Buddhists, etc. In the Sutras Brahmanical orthodoxy fought and
lest its last battle against these forces of religious liberalism before
merging itself in the synthetic national religion of India in the pre-
Muhammadan era, i.e. Hinduism. A brief survey of the Samhitas,
Brama^as, ar.d the Srauta-sutras •* is given here to indicate the
nature and extent of these texts, reserving for later chapters their
linguistic and literary valuation.

I . THE SAMHITAS

I. Rigveda

Of the various recensions of the fiigveda known in tradition
only one, namely the Sakala recension, consisting of 1,017 hymns
of very unequal length, has come down to us apparently complete,
and it is this Sakala recension that is meant when one speaks of the

229

V.A.— 15

THE VEDIC AGE

“ Rigveda though we have parts of two other recensions of the
Rigveda, namely the Valakhilya (11 hymns, usually placed in the
middle of the eighth Masala of the &akala recension) and the Bash-
kala (36 hymns in the Aundh edition of the Fligveda , the so-called
Khila-suktas, most of which are evidently spurious fabrications,
inserted at various places in the Sakala text). Why fragments —
and only these fragments — of the Valakhilya and Bashkala recen¬
sions have been handed down to us is quite clear: they had definite,
though minor, roles to play in the ritual (as proved by later ritual
texts in the case of some of them), and therefore had to be pre¬
served.2 Originally the ritual varied not only from school to school
but also from family to family,2* but later in the Rigvedic age a
system of ritual with minor variations, generally recognized by all
the principal schools and priestly families, had been built up, for
which the texts collected in the Sakala school were accepted en
bloc , but in which there always remained not a few loop-holes pro¬
vided by the continually expanding ritual, and these loop-holes
had to be stopped with Rik-mantras drawn sometimes from other
recensions.

Now, if the existing fragments of the non-Sakala -recensions of
the Rik-Samhitd owe their survival apparently only to the fact that
they were utilized in ritual by priests of the Sakala school3 — and
indeed no other plausible reason can be suggested for the anoma¬
lous survival of these non-6akala ^lik-texts — then the important
question arises: should not the preservation of the whole Sakala re¬
cension itself be attributed to the same cause? This question
has doubtless to be answered in the affirmative.4 All the hymns
accepted into the Sarhhita must have possessed intrinsic ritual signi¬
ficance at the time of their acceptance.

Later, however, the ritual changed, and not a few of the hymns
of the Sarhhita in consequence lost their proper viniyoga, but not
their position in the Samhita which had become sacrosanct and
therefore unassailable.4*

The Rigveda is not — as it is often represented to be — a book of
folk poetry; nor does it mark the beginning of a literary tradition.
Bucolic, heroic, and lyrical elements are not entirely absent, but
they are sub-merged under a stupendous mass of dry and stereo¬
typed hymnology dating back to the Indo-Iranian era, and held as a
close preserve by a number of priestly families whose sole object
in cherishing those hymns was to utilize them in their sacrificial
cult. Of natural outpourings of heart there is not much to be
found in the Rigveda , for the hymns were part of an elaborate ritual
which gradually came to be regarded as capable not only of per¬
suading but also of compelling the gods to do the bidding of the
officiating priests. This magico-religious attitude of mind found

230

VEDIC LITERATURE — GENERAL VIEW

fullest expression later in the Mimamsa-philosophy in which the
gods were retained only in name and the ritual itself came to occupy
the place of the gods.

One hymn of three verses3 and three verses of three other
hymns6 have not been divided in the Padapajha by Sakalya, who
must have been dead when Yaska wrote6® and therefore lived be¬
fore 600 B.C. This is important, for it shows that hymns and
verses could have been added to the Rik-Samhita even after the date
of Sakalya, for it is clear that Sakalya would not have left the
hymn and the verses in question undivided if they had formed an
integral part of the Samhita in his time. The formation of the
Rik-Samhita, as we know it today, had therefore not been quite
complete even so late as the time of Sakalya. On the other hand,
there is nothing to tell us when the task of collecting the hymns
into a Samhita was started.

Most of the hymns were not composed as such, but were mecha¬
nically manufactured out of fragments of a floating anonymous lite¬
rature,7 and the process of manufacturing hymns in this manner
must have continued for a long time. The fact that there are Man¬
tras cited by Pratlkas in the Brahmanas of the Rigveda which do not
occur in our Samhita clearly shows that at the time of these Brahma-
nas recently adopted or freshly manufactured ftik-verses were con¬
sidered good enough for utilization in ritual, but were yet denied a
place in the Samhita.8 It is impossible to imagine, however, any
stage in the development of the Rik-Samhita at which a demand
for new Mantras was not present, for the ritual in which they were
intended to be used was all the time growing in complexity and
expanding in range — and therefore demanding new Mantras at
every step.8® There is indeed much to be said in favour of a ritual
tradition advocated by Hillebrandt9 — which in his opinion was in¬
dependent of the literary tradition of the Rik-Samhita known to us,
and which contained hjmnns all of which need not have been in¬
cluded in the latter.10

There is at all events no doubt that the texts constituting the
Puroruchas, Nividas, and Praishas for the ritual are of pre-Samhita
date, and that the Prauga-suktas, Aprl-suktas, etc., were composed
directly with an eye to application in ritual. 1 1 All -things consider¬
ed, it seems best to conclude that the hymns constituting the Hik-
Samhita, though certainly not always composed or manufactured
directly for the sacrificial ritual, yet owe their inclusion in the Sam-
hita, which guaranteed their preservation, wholly to the fact that
at some time or other the ritual offered a place to each of them.

The division of the whole Samhita into ten Manias, and the
number and arrangement of hymns in these Mandalas, are not at all
arbitrary. It is hardly an accident that the number of hymns contain-

231

THE VEDIC AGE

ed in the first and the last Masalas is exactly the same, namely one
hundred and ninety-one. The kernel of the #ik-Samhitd is, how¬
ever, constituted by the so-called family-Ma$tfalas, i.e. the six con¬
secutive Masalas from the second to the seventh, each of which
is supposed to have been composed by a particular family of priests.
The hymns of these family -Maajtfalas are often composed of tristichs
( tfichas ) — evidently because in ritual, as a rule, groups of three
verses, and not whole hymns or single verses, are used. The eighth
Mandala is known as the Pragatha-majrfala, for the verses in mixed
metres known as Pragathas, indispensable for the Udgatfi-ritual, are
drawn mostly from this Masala. The ninth is most pronouncedly
a ritual Masala, for m it were collected all the hymns addressed to
Soma Pavamana,12 which were originally included in the other
Masalas. The first Maodala falls naturally into two parts: the first
fifty hymns have the Kagvas as authors like the eighth Majptfala and
are arranged according to principles obtaining in that Ma^d&la (see
below), but the rest are arranged in the manner of the hymns of
the family-Majridalas. The tenth Masala is manifestly a later ad¬
dition, often Atharvanic in character — yet not so late that the few
Pavamana-hymns originally belonging to it could not be transferred
to the ninth .Masala.13

The principle governing the original arrangement of hymns in
the family-Ma^dalas seems to have been determined by three con¬
siderations— -deity, metre, and the number of verses contained in
the hymns concerned. 14 Each family-Magd&la opens with a group
of hymns dedicated to Agni, immediately followed by another group
addressed to Indra. 15 Then follow in each family-Mai^lala groups of
hymns dedicated to various gods, the relative positions of these
groups being determined on the whole in the descending order
according to the number of hymns contained in each, or, when such
groups contain each an equal number of hymns, in the descending
order according to the number of verses contained in the first hymn
of each group. It follows as a necessary corollary to this rule that
if in a family-Man^ala several deities have as their shares only one
hymn each, then these single hymns should be put at the end of
the Mantfala and arranged in descending order according to the
number of verses contained in each. Within each deity -group the
order of hymns is determined chiefly by metre, again in the descend¬
ing order, the hymns in Jagati coming first and those in Gayatrl
coming last. These are in brief the laws governing the arrange¬
ment of hymns in the family-Man^alas — laws re-discovered in our
age by Bergaigne and endorsed by Oldenberg. 1 3 These laws can¬
not, of course, be rigorously applied to the text of the Rigveda as
we find it today. Yet, when a re-division of the hymns is made on
the plausible grounds suggested by Bergaigne and Oldenberg, it is
found that exceptions to these laws are surprisingly few. And it

232

VEDIC UTEHATUHE-^ENEEAL VIEW

leaves no doubt that the redactors of the family-Mautfalas had in
mind a comprehensive plan — the advantages of such a plan are ob¬
vious — according to which every single hymn in this large collection
could occupy only one particular position and no other.

The plan of the eighth Masala is altogether different. Here
the hymns are not arranged primarily according to the deities in¬
voked in them as in the family-Ma^alas.17 The principle followed
seems rather to have been primarily to group together all the hymns
of each individual author, and then to arrange the hymns of each
such group into sub-groups of hymns addressed to particular deities,
and that in such a manner that the verse-numbers of the first hymns
of these sub-groups would be in a descending order. This peculia¬
rity of the eighth Manuals, together with the fact that most of the
hymns in Pragltha metres are found in it, does suggest — but by no
means proves — that the eighth Ma^clala was subjoined at a later
date to the kernel constituted by the family-Maudalas.17* But there
is positive reason to believe that there was a time when the eighth
Maodala was actually considered to be the last in the Samhita, fcr
why else should the Valakhilya-hymns be thrust into the eighth Mao-
dala and not added after the tenth? Also the simple fact that the
eighth Mapdala is followed by the ninth strongly suggests the same
thing, for since the latter consists almost exclusively of Pavamana-
hymns combed out of the other M&odalas, it could have been consti¬
tuted as a separate collection only after them, and consequently after
the eighth Maod^a also. It should not be forgotten, however, that
the ninth Maodal* is of a comparatively later date only as a separate
collection, but not in contents. Why it was considered necessary to
assemble in a separate collection only the hymns addressed to Soma
Pavamana and no other deity is perfectly clear, for while the hymns
addressed to other deities were primarily the concern of the Hotyi-
priests, those invoking Soma Pavamana were originally meant exclu¬
sively for the Udgatyi-priests — who therefore should have taken the
initiative in collecting the Pavaraana-hymns in a separate book.18
And since the Udgatyi-priests were Saman-singers and not simply
Mantra-reciters like the Hotyi-priests, it is not to be wondered at if
the hymns contained in the Udgatyi-M&^ala are arranged, as they
actually are, according to metres, the chief concern of the redactors
of this Masala having been apparently to. group together hymns com¬
posed in the same metre.

Prom the above survey it will be clear that all attempts to
establish a relative chronology of the first nine Magd&l&s of the
Rigveda cannot but be futile.10 That the tenth Map^ala is later
in origin than the first nine is, however, perfectly certain from the
evidence of the language.20 But it is also certain that the whole
Of the Rik- Samhita, including the tenth Masala, had assumed prac-

233

THE VEDIC AGE

tically the same form in which we find it today already before the
other Saxhhitas came into existence.21

2. Sdmaveda

As regards the Sdmaveda 22 it is necessary always to keep in
mind that the word sdman means “melody/’ and that the Samar
Sarhhitd is nothing but a collection of melodies. Certain texts are,
of course, included in what is known as Sdmaveda, but the role of
these texts in the Sdmaveda is altogether secondary— -in fact analo¬
gous to the part played by musical notes in music. The texts used
as musical notes in this Veda are moreover almost wholly drawn
from the ftik-Samhitd. According to the figures given in the Aundh
edition of the Sdmaveda, of the 1,603 verses (not counting the re¬
petitions) of this Veda only 99 (again not counting the repetitions)
are not found in the Rik-Samhita.23 The literary and historical
value of the Sdmaveda is, therefore, practically nil, though its im¬
portance for the Soma-ritual cannot be overestimated.

The text part of the Sdmaveda serving merely the purpose of
musical notes, every melody could theoretically be chanted on
every verse. Yet this freedom seems never to have been actually
taken in the ritual. Rather the ritual demands that particular me¬
lodies should be chanted on particular verses. It is the double task
of assigning particular melodies to particular verses and particular
verses to particular melodies that has rendered so complex the
Sdmaveda which is, needless to say, a purely ritual Samhita. The
complexity of the whole system has become still more enhanced on
account of the fact that, on the one hand, the same sdman can be
chanted on different verses, and on the other, different sdmans can
be chanted on the same verse. In the language of the ritual texts,
the verse on which a sdman is chanted is called a Yoni, “source.”
This suggestive term, used already in the Brahmapas, clearly shows
that it had become conventional in ancient India to regard the
verse as the source of the melody,24 even though of text and melody
one can never be the source of the other. The Sdmaveda proper,
he. the Archika, is nothing but a collection of 585 Yonis. The Pur-
varchika, together with the Arapyaka-Samhita and the Uttararchika,
represents the text-part of the Sdmaveda . The Gramageyagana, the
Ar&py agey ag&na , the flhagfina and the Uhyagana23 together consti¬
tute its song-part.

The Purvarchika records only verses ( Yonis ) to each of which
corresponds a single sdman (melody) named after the seer who
is supposed to have discovered it, and these sdmans corresponding
to the verses of the Purvarchika are registered in the Gramage*
yagSna and the Arapyageyagana. The Yonis of the Purvarchika
are divided into three parts: Nos. 1-114 are verses addressed to
Agni; Nos. 115-466 to Indra; and Nos. 467-585 to Soma Pavamana.

234

VEDIC UTERATURE--GBNERAL VIEW

The Uttararchika, on the other hand, records mostly tristichs
(tjichas) or distichs (pragdthas)20 occasionally also complexes of
more verses, but never single verses as in the Purvarchika. Now,
generally the first verse of a Tjricha of the Uttararchika is found
to occur among the single verses (Yonis) of the Purvarchika,27
and when such is the case it is to be understood that the melody
belonging to that particular Yoni of the Purvarchika has to be
chanted on the whole of the corresponding Tjricha of the Uttarar-
chika. In actual chant, however, no verse can retain its original
form. Therefore it is not sufficient merely to indicate which verse
has to be chanted in which melody. It is necessary further to in¬
dicate what modifications a* verse will have to undergo when chanted
in a particular melody. To indicate the actual forms assumed in
chant by the tristichs of the Uttararchika is the purpose of the
Ohagana, which thus gives the melodies of the Gramageyag&na in
their final ritual form. The Ohyagaria does the same for the melodies
of the Aranyageyagana.2-

3 . Yajurt'eda

The Yajurveda is, if possible, even more pronouncedly a ritual
Veda, for it is essentially a guide-book23 for the Adhvaryu-priests
who had to do practically everything in the sacrifices excepting recit¬
ing the Mantras arid chanting the melodies.30 And since variation
is more natural in manual work than in recitation and chanting,
we actually possess today — not merely in tradition as is mostly
the case with the other Samhitas — no less than six complete recen¬
sions of the Yajurveda , of which two (Madhyandina and Kanva)30"
constitute the White Yajurveda. and the rest (Taittiriya. Katfiaka.
MaitrayanI and Kapishthala) the Black Yajurveda.31

The fact that the Gopatha-Brahmana (l. 29) in citing the first
words of the different Vedas quotes in the case of the Yajurveda
the beginning of the Vdjasaneyi-Samhiti32 may suggest that the
White Yajurveda represents the original tradition of which the
Black Yajurveda with all its recensions is a later variation. But
the truth should rather be just the opposite, for it is hardly possible
that Mantra and Brahmana. kept separate as in the White Yajur¬
veda tradition, should have got mixed up at a later date. It is
generally assumed, therefore, that the Black Yajurveda, with
Mantra and Brahmana mixed up throughout, is older than the White
Yajurveda in which the Brahmana was separated from the Saxhhita.
perhaps in imitation of the Rigvedic model. In the Taittiriya-Brah-
mana< too. which is merely a continuation of the TaittiriyaSaihhita
(but not necessarily later than it for that reason*, and which, too.
owes its origin as a separate treatise to the influence of the Rigvedic
tradition,33 Mantra and Brahmana, have not been separated.34 It
is a peculiar feature of the Taittiriya texts that the Sariihita and the

235

THE VKDIC AGE

Brahmaga of this school supplement each other in such a way that
each seems to presuppose the other.

The relative chronology of the extant versions of the Black
Yajurveda has long been an interesting but unsolved problem.35
Language in this case fails to provide a dependable criterion, for,
in spite of inevitable unimportant linguistic peculiarities of each,
all of them may be said to speak in the same language.36 The treat¬
ment, of the Rigvedic Mantras in the Samhitas of the Black* Yajur¬
veda is interesting: the Kathaka and the MaUrtiya® € in this respect
often agree with each other against the ftigveda and the Taittiriya,37
which should indicate, if Oldenberg’s well-known theory is true that
slavish conformity to Rigvedic text is a sign of comparative lateness
of Yajurveda~Samhitds,3& that the Kathaka-Kapishthala-Maitrayapi
may have been older than the Taittiriya. As regards the Brahma&a-
parts of the Taittiriya-Samhita , Keith39 has shown that they are
later than the older first five Panchikas of the Aitareya-Br&hmana
and older than the Satapatha-Brahmana, but anything more pre¬
cise about their relative or absolute date eannot be hazarded.

If slavish conformity to the text-tradition of the Rigveda is
indicative of comparative lateness, then the Samhitas of the White
Yajurveda must be regarded as comparatively late, to judge them
by the Rigvedic verse? quoted in them, as amply demonstrated by
01denberg.4Q Moreover the Vaja$aneyi~Samhit& lacks that general
uniformity and homogeneity which pervades not only the whole of
the Taittiriya-Samhita but extends also to the Brahmaoa and the
Arapyaka of the Taittiriya School. Of the forty odd Adhyayas of the
Vdjasaneyi~Samhita, it is quite evident that the last twenty-
two were added later4 1 gradually to a basic text consisting
of the first eighteen.. As a rule only the formulas found in the
first -eighteen Adhyayas occur also in the Taittiriya-Samhitd, while
those of the last twenty-two are met with in the Taittiriya-Brdh -
mana*2 The next three Adhyayas (XIX-XXI) give the Mantras
of the Sautrima$l, a sacrifice performed to expiate the sin of ex¬
cessive indulgence in Soma, and the following four (XXXI-XXV),
those of the horse-sacrifice. The remaining fifteen Adhyayas
(XXVT-XL) are expressly called Khila in the ancillary literature 43

4. Atharvaveda

The Atharvaveda is utterly different from the other three
Vedas discussed above, for though an effort was made at a compa¬
ratively late date to absorb it within the sacred Srauta-literature
by furnishing it formally with a &rauta-sutra with the significant
designation Vaitana-sutra,44 yet it was never accorded full recog¬
nition in the ritual of the Soma-cult, and to the last if remained
essentially what it was from the start — a prayer-book of the simple
folk, haunted by ghosts and exploited by Brahmins.46 In its pre-

236

VBDIC UTERATUR3&-GBWKRAL VIEW

sent form the Atharvaveda is certainly the latest of the four Sam*
hitas, but in contents it is by no means so, for there can be no doubt
that Bloomfield4® was perfectly right in characterizing the Atharva -
veda as follows: “On the whole the Atharvaveda is the bearer of old
tradition not only in the line of the popular charms; but also to some
extent, albeit slight, its hieratic materials are likely to be the pro*
duct of independent tradition that has eluded the collectors of the
other Vedas, the Rigveda not excepted.9’ At the same time, how¬
ever, it is quite clear that the hymns and charms of the Atharvaveda
were collected in a Samhita and handed down to thO present day
only because the Brahmanical ritual gradually extended its sway
over profane superstition,* and by degrees granted a grudging re¬
cognition even to frankly magical incantations that were originally
doubtless of non-Brahmanica! inspiration. This is proved strikingly
by the Khili-hymns of the Atharvaveda , the so-called Kuntapa-
suktas, of no particularly sacred character, which, as Bloomfield has
amply demonstrated,47 were nevertheless retained and handed
down in tradition, apparently only because they were indispensable
for a popular cult that had succeeded in wringing recognition from
the circle of sacerdotes.

The Samhita of the Atharvaveda is now before us in two recen¬
sions,46 the Sauriakiya recension,49 and the Paippalada recension.60
It is the Saunakiya-SamhiUi that is usually meant when the Atharva -
veda is mentioned in ancient or modem literature. But the earliest
references seem to have been to some other (probably Paippalada)
recension. Patanjali’s statement on Paiiini V. 2.37 to the effect that
the text of the Angirases consists of twenty chapters may
apply to both the recensions, since each consists of twenty Kfepdas,
but the initial verse of the Atharvaveda as quoted by Patanjali
and also in the G&patha-Brahmana is not the opening verse of the
Saunaklya recension,61 but of the Paippalada text.-2

Of the twenty Kansas of the Atharvaveda,-3 the last one
is manifestly a later addition manufactured almost wholly out of
borrowings from the Rigveda to serve as a manual for the priest
called BrahmanSchchhamsin who had a definite, though minor,
role to play at the Soma-sacrifice.64 Moreover the Kuntapa-sukta*
of this Kanda are without any Padapafha, and nothing parallel to
them can be found in the Paippalada recension — showing that they
had been given a place in this late Kanda of the Samhita at a very
late date. In fact, the nineteenth Kai?d& ends with a significant
prayer which strongly suggests that the Samhita at one time was
considered to end with it. But there are reasons to believe that
the nineteenth Kaoda itself is a late compilation, for its hymns,
though found in the Paippalada recension, are scattered throughout
that text. Both the nineteenth and the twentieth K&pd®* have been
ignored in the Pratisakhya of the Atharvaveda . The eighteenth

237

THE VEDIC AGE

Kap^a, consisting of four funeral hymns, should also be regarded
as a later addition, for its contents are absent in the Paippalada-re-
cension. The seventeenth Kan^a, consisting of only one hymn of
purely magical contents, is a curious anomaly, and must be regarded
as a late accretion, though partly appearing also in the Paippalada
text. The most interesting of all the Kashas *s the fifteenth, com¬
posed not in verse but in typical Brahmapa prose, and devoted to
the mystic exaltation of the Vratya. Probably this Vratya-kaptfa
was the first of the additions successively made to the original text
of the Atharvaveda which has come down to us in two recensions.
There is no reason to doubt the antiquity and authenticity of the
other Kansas of the Atharvaveda.

2. THE BRAHMANAS

The Brahmapas are, if possible, ritual texts of an even more
pronounced type than the Samhitas, for though the hymns and
charms of at least the Rigveda and the Atharvaveda need not all
have been of ritual origin, there is no room for any doubt in the
case of the Brahmapas that the sole object of their authors was to
speculate on and mystify, but hardly to explain, minute details of
Brahmanical sacrifices. The duties of the Hotri-priests, who
had to recite the Mantras of the Piigveda at the sacrifices,
have been luxuriantly speculated upon and mystified by the
authors of the Brahmanas of the Rigveda, those of the Udgatri-
priests in the Brahmanas of the Sdmaveda , etc. All that is found in
the Brahmapas that is not directly concerned with ritual is, strictly
speaking, irrelevant and unnecessary from the view-point of their
authors.

The Aitareya and the Kanshitaki ( or Sdnkhdyana) are the Brah¬
manas of the Rigveda, and of them the former is older in date and
bigger in bulk, but the latter is richer in contents. But the Aitareya
itself is plainly a composite work, its first five Panchikas being older
than the last three. Similarly, only two Brahmanas of the Sama-
veda have been preserved, namely the Jaiminlya Tf and the Tar ujtya-
mahti-Brahmana, the latter also known as the Panchavimsa-Brahmana
on account of its twentyfive chapters, to which a supplementary
chapter was added that somehow came to be regarded as an indepen¬
dent treatise with the singular designation “Shcdvirhsa-Brdhmana."
The Jaiminiya-Brahmana is indeed one of the most interesting works
of the later Vedic literature, and rivals in importance the £a tapatha-
Brahmana 66 of the Yajurveda, for in elucidation of the details of
ritual the authors of these two Brahmanas have introduced nume¬
rous stories, mostly of an aetiological character, which neverthe¬
less throw welcome light on social conditions. Regarding the re¬
lation between the two recensions of the Satapatha-Brdhmana .
namely Madhyondina and Kanva, Caland has expressed the opinion

238

VEDIC LTTEEATURE—GIKEHAL VIEW

that both existed from the very beginning, but later the KSnva-recen-
sion was influenced by the other.67

It is also dear at the same time that neither the Madhyandina
nor the Klava recension of the Satapatha-Brahmana has been handed
down to us in its original redaction, for quotations from the Satapatha
in early literature are often missing in both the recensions. More¬
over, it is certain that the Brahma^a in both its recensions is a com¬
posite work. For though Yajhavalkya Vajasaneya is the authority
most frequently quoted in the Satapatha, yet in both the recensions
there are five Kandas (Kand&s VI-X in Madhyandina corresponding
to Kansas VTH~XII in Kanva) dealing with the construction of the
fire-altar, in which the authority quoted is &a$dily& and Yajhavalkya
has not been mentioned at all. It remains still to mention only
one of the more important Brahma^as, namely the Gropatha-Brak-
mana of the Atharvaveda, consisting mostly of slightly modified
quotations (without acknowledgment) from other sources. It gives
the impression of being so late that Bloomfield66 declared it to be
more recent than even the Srauta-sutra (Vaitana) and the Gfihya-
sutra (Kau£ika) of the Atharvaveda .

3 . THE &RAUTA * SOTRAS

Puerile speculation on the minutiae of ritual, so much in evi¬
dence in the Brahma^as, developed in the direction of pure specula¬
tion in the Ara^yakas and Bp&nishads. Wintemitz69 has truly said
that “it is often difficult to draw the line between the Ane^yakfts
and the Upanishad^” Only it is necessary to remember that it is no
less difficult to draw the line between the Brhhmanas and the Ara$-
yakas. Among the &rauta-sutras, too, there Is at least one text
namely the Baudhdyana Srautasutra, whic^ it is difficult not to
regard as a late BriHmaoa. Thus a fine line of demarcation between
BrShmapa, Arapy&ka and &rauta-sutra is out of the question. Yet
it would be correct to say that the speculative spirit developed in
the Brahmauas in connection with ritual ceremonies tried to burst
its irksome fetters in the Araoyakas, and in some of the Upanish&ds
attained the stage of as complete an independence as was ever wit¬
nessed by man. The Aranyakas and Upanishads,60 though nomi¬
nally connected with the Brahmaq&s, should rather be regarded as
the beginning of purely speculative thinking in India. Much more
closely connected with the older Vedic literature (Samhitas and
Brahmagas) are the Srauta-sutras, and to a lesser extent, the Grihya-
sutras.01

The Srauta-sutras describe62 the ritual sacrifices in a language
that is both vigorous and prophetic in brevity, but is also utterly
unintelligible for that very reason. No greater contrast can be
imagined than that between the Brahmagas and the Srauta-srutras,
though the subject of treatment is the same in both. Both are

239

THE VEDIC AGE

obscure, but for different reasons: the Brahmagas, because of loose
thinking, and the Srauta-sutras, because too much is taken to be
understood in them. Moreover the Srauta-sutras, isolated the com¬
mon and special features of the sacrifices and cleverly dealt with
them as if they were digits of number, and that by itself must be
wgarded as an intellectual achievement of no mean order.63 Truly
scientific spirit is unmistakably reflected in the Srauta-sutras, albeit
the subject to which this spirit was applied was still magic pure and
simple.84

The Srauta-sfitras of A&valayana and Sankhayana belong to
the J^igved®, which means that the ritual duties of the Hotj-i-priests
have been presented in them in a systematic form. But some of the
verses quoted by FraUka in the Sankhayana Arautasutra cannot
be found in the &akala-recension of the Rik-samhita*6 and so it is
surmised that it was affiliated to the Bashkala-4akhS and not to the
iakaia-£akhi of the ^tigveda. As regards the Brahmanas, its affilia¬
tion is to the Kaushlt&ki and not the Aitareya-Brahmana. Of its
eighteen chapters, the last two, though not necessarily of later origin,
were a later addition, dealing with the Mahavrata, a popular festival
that was given a Brahmanical complexion at a later date. The
A&wal&yana Srauta-sutra, on the other hand, is affiliated to the
$!kal&4ikhl of the Rik~Samhit&1 and the Aitareya-Brahmana : Of
these two Srauta-sutras of the Rigveda, Sankhayana's should he the
older, for its language in some places is like that of the Brahmanas.
The principal Srauta-sutras of the Sdmaveda are those of Lapya -
m and Dr&hyay&na the first affiliated to the Kauthuma-£akha and
the latter to the Ragayan!ya-£§khi. A remarkable feature of the
L&pyayana §rauta~sutra is that the Sudras, Nishadas, and Vrfityas
have not been treated in it as accursed human beings as is generally
the ease in other Vedic texts.66

The Apastamba &rauta-sutra of the Black Yajurveda, belonging
to the Kh&odiklya school of the Taittinyas, is in many respects the
most important work of this genre , for no other single work gives
such an ample (though by no means complete) description of the
Vedic sacrifices; but the numerous quotations from other ritual texts
found in it suggest that it should not be placed too high in date. The
Satya&h&dha Arautfusutra is a particular recension of the Apastamba
$rauta~$utra. The Apasthambins seem to have been prejudiced
against the Kanvas and Ka£yapas, for their Srauta-sutra (XIII. 7.5)
forbids the giving of presents to them. The oldest and the most
archaic of all the known ^rauta-sutras is certainly the Baudhdyana
firautasutra®7 also of the Black Yajurveda. In style it still re¬
sembles a Brahmana in most respects, and according to tradition it
belongs to the Khagdikiya-school like the Apastamba Srauta-sutra .
The White Yajurveda is represented in the &rauta-sutra literature
by the Kdtydyana Srauta-siitra , of which a striking feature is that

240

VEDIC LITERATURE-GENERAL VIEW

three of its Ad hy ay as (XXII-XXIV) are devoted to Samavedic ritual.
Among the teachers cited by name in it are found some of the Black
Yajurveda.68

Lastly, the Atharvavedins too got their Srauta-manual in the
shape of the V aitana-sutra — anomalously enough, fpr the Atharva¬
veda has, strictly speaking, nothing to do with Srauta-ritual. But
since the Samhita cf the Brahmat?achchhaihsin, one of the priests
participating in Soma-sacrifices, came to be appended to the Athar -
vaveda69 the way was apparently opened thereby for the despised
Atharvavedins to make inroad into the protected field of Srauta-
ritual. The result of this novel experiment was the V aitana-sutra.
But as Bloomfield has observed, “if is not* the product of practices
in Srauta-ceremonies which have slowly and gradually developed
in a certain high priestly school, but a somewhat conscious product,
made at a time, when the Atharvavedins began to feel the need of
a distinctive Srauta-manual to support their claim that the Athar -
vaveda is a canonical Veda of independent and superior character.”70
Strictly speaking, the Vaitana^svAra is the Srauta-sutra only of the
twentieth Kanda of the Atharvaveda and not of the whole of it. And
since this Kan^a is nothing but the Samhita of the Brahmanach¬
chhamsin, the V aitana-sutra may quite appropriately be called the
Srauta-sutra of the Brahmanachchhamsin.. It may be noted that
only 18 verses71 of the twentieth Kan$a of the Atharvaveda have
not been assigned viniyoga in the V aitana-sutra.

1 . See supra, p. 203.

la. The Upanishads and the Grihya-sutras are not) being taken into consideration
in this chapter, for they are related more intimately to the posi-Vedic than to
the Vedic literature proper. They will be discussed in later chapters.

2. It was pointed out long ago by Oldenberg ( Prolegajnena , p. 508) that not only
the Valakhilya-hymns, but also the Suparna-hymns, the oldest of the Khila-
suktas, had a definite place in ritual according to tradition. According to the
A nu vakanuk rama ni 36, the Bashkala-Sarhhita contained 1025 hymns, in its
additional eight hymns being included seven Valakhilyas and the Samjnana
t Oldenberg, Prolegomena , p. 494). Difference between the three recensions thus
lies only in the Khilajs.

2a. This is why we have six “family Mandalas” in the Rigveda. This point has
been fully demonstrated by Bergaigne.

3. Strictly speaking, the Rigveda. that we know is the gaisiriya redaction of the
Sakala re.cension of the text.

4. All the Vedic scholars, however, excepting Leopold von Schroder, who assigned
a place in ritual even to the dialogue-hymns ( Mysterium und Mimus in Rigveda ,
p. 36), have answered this question in the negative, though riot all with equal
emphasis.

4a. It lias to be remembered, however, that some special kinds of ritual formulas
such as the Praisha and Nivid-mantras, though indispensable for ritual from
the earliest period, have nowhere been collected in a Samhita.

5. RV, I. 190.

6. RV, VII. 59, 12; X. 20.1; X. 121. 10.

6a. Because Yaska (VI. 28) when referring to him uses the perfect tense ( chakarn ).

7. This is definitely proved by the material collected in Bloomfield’s Rigveda
Repetitions.

8. See on this point particularly Oldenberg, Prolegomena, p. 367.

8a. Thus, when as a result of the growing complexity of the Srauta-ritual an
additional assistant of the Hota (nominally of the Brahman) had to be included
among the usual band of priests in the person of the Brahmanachchhamsin, a

241

THE VEDIC AGE

new Samhita too had to be created for him which was appended at a very late
date to the Atharvaveda, forming its last Kanda (Oldenberg. op. cit., p. 347;
Das V aitdnasutra dee Atharva-veda, iibersetzt von W. Calanci, p. vi).

9. Bezzenbergers Beitrdge, Vol, VIII, p. 195.

10. Hillebrandt’s theory has been criticized — not <^uite fairly in our opinion — by
Oldenberg ( Prolegomena , p. 519). Variant reading of Rik- texts in later ritual
literature should not, however, be taken as proof in support of Hillebrandt’s
theory, for the variations might have been due to intentional alteration of the
Rik-texts to suit the ritual practices of a later age.

11. See Scheftelowitz, Die Apokryphen det Rgveda, p. 9.

12. It is not at all right to say— as Winternitz does (H1L, I, p. 58)— that the ninth
Mand&la “contains exclusively hymns which glorify the drink of Soma, and are
dedicated to the god Soma.” In fact there is not a single hymn in the ninth
Man^ala dedicated to the god Soma. Such hymns are found only in the other
Mandal&s — f°r the simple reason that the Soma-hymns of the ninth Mandala
are dedicated solely to Soma Pavamana and not to Soma.

13. This point has been particularly stressed by Oldenberg, Prolegomena, pp. 252-3.

14. Authors’ lists given in ancillary literature (Anukramanis), though containing
many apparently spurious names, are on the whole quite trustworthy and fully
in conformity with the internal data of the hymns. For a different view on this
point see Winternitz, op. cit., p. 58.

15. This systematic reversal of the natural order of the gods is not without signifi¬
cance. Indra is undoubtedly the most powerful god in the Vedic religion, but in
Vedic ritual Agni may claim the first place — since no sacrifice is possible with¬
out fire. This again goes to support the view that the redactors of the Rik-
samhita were guided chiefly by considerations of ritual.

16. Prolegomena, p. 192.

17. The eighth Mand&la too may be called a family-Mandala, since the authors are
mostly of the Kap.va family, but authors of other families are also frequently
mentioned. Nor can it justly claim to be the Pragatha-mandala as it does, for
the majority of its hymns are in non-Pragatha metres, and hymns in Pragatha
metres are present also in other Manual as.

17a. That is to say, all the family-Marujlalas might have been constituted out of the
then existing material in one day or in one minute, but the eighth Manila, of
which the most essential part is manifestly its large number of Pragatha-hymns
which originally should have been distributed — not necessarily equally — among
all the faraily-Mandalas (like the Aprl-hymns!) , could be constituted only after
the family-Mandaias.

18. See Oldenberg Prolegomena, p. 250.

19. Attempts galore have, however, been made to achieve the impossible, the last
and the most elaborate attempt being Wust’s Stilgeschichte und Chronologic des
Rgveda (Leipzig 1928) in which previous literature on this problefn has been
mlly indicated.

20. CL below, Ch. XVI.

21. Oklenberg, Prolegomena, p. 328.

22. By “Samaveda” is to be understood the Kauthuma-sakha of this Samhita, with
which perhaps the Samhita of the Ranayaniya-sakha was identical. The Jai-'
miniya-SamhiUL has been edited by Caland.

23. Readings of this large number of common passages are, however, not identical
in both the Vedas. Ludwig, after an elaborate comparison of all these passages
( Der Rigveda, Vol. HI, pp. 83 ff.) came to the conclusion that in many passages
the S&maveda has actually retained the original reading and not the Rigveda.
But Ludwig’s theory has been severely criticized by Oldenberg (Prolegomena,
pp. 288 ff.).

24. Much as it was conventional to regard the Padapatha as the source of the
Samhita-text.

25. The Ohagana and Ohyagana are not regarded as canonical.

26. By “Pragatha” are meant complexes of two verses of which the second is a
Satobrihatl and the first either a Brihati or a Kakubh (see Rikprdtii&khya.
XV1H. I.), In actual application, however, every Pragatha has to be artificially
expanded into a Trie ha.

27. Quite a number of Trichas of the TJttararchika, however, have nothing to
correspond to them in the Purvarchika: that is because all of .them are chanted
uniformly on the Gayatra-melody composed on the well-known Savitrl-mantra
(tot savitur = varenyam, etc.). On the other hand, many Yonis of the Purvar¬
chika are without a correspondent verse in the Utotararchika: this is perhaps
because the sacrifices at which the Samans concerned were chanted were not
Soma-sacrifices (see Caland, Panchavimia-Br&hmana, Translation, Introd.,
pp. x-xi).

242

VEDIC LITERATURE — GENERAL VIEW

28. The chronological relation between the Purvarchika and the Uttardrchika has
been always one of the chief problems facing Vedic scholars, but the problem
seems insoluble. See on this point particularly Cdland, op. cit., pp. xiv ff. and
Suryakanta, Riktantra, pp. 23 ff. where previous literature on this important
problem has been indicated.

29. Yajurveda-texts are by no means guide-books in the sense that any person by
studying them can form a picture, of the ritual ceremonies dealt with in them.
In fact ev&n by studying the relevant portions of the Samhitas, Brahmanas, and
Sutras in the light of the commentaries it is not possible to reconstruct fully
the duties performed by a single priest at one of the great sacrifices, for all
these texts proceed. on the assumption' that the ritual is already known to the
reader in all its details. Only the late Paddhatis may be regarded as guides for
the uninitiated, but, of course, they contain much that is not Vedic.

30 . Already in the Rigveda the Adhvaryu is called suhastya and madhupani ( X.

41. 3) in contrast to the Hotri who is called suvdeh (X. 110.7) and sufihva
(I. 13.8).

30a. Regarding differences of reading between these two. see Caland, Kanva -
Satapatha, Introd., p. 91.

31. Formerly it used to be tacitly assumed that the 6ukla -Yajurveda is so called
because Mantra and Brahmana are not mixed up in it as in the Krishna-Yajur-
veda. But it is more probable that the redactors of the former claimed to have
collected in it only the suJcldni yajumshi “white or pure Yajus” ( Ved . Jnd.,
II, p. 183) already mentioned in the Brihadaranyakopanishad VI. 4.33 — whence
the names “White Yajurveda” and as a contrast. “Black Yajurveda.”

32. As pointed out long ago by Max Muller, HASL, second edition, 18G0, p. 453,
and emphasized by Weber, HIL, p. 106 fn.

33. See Keith, HOS, XVIII, p. Ixxvi. Certain sections of the Taittiriya-Brdhmana.
such as those on human sacrifice (III. 4) and Nakshatreshtayah (1.5) are cer¬
tainly of later origin.

34. The same applies, mutatis mutandis, also . to the Taittiriya Aranyaka. “The
Sutras do not recognize any distinction between the Aranyaka, the Brahmana.
or the Samhita as regards their Brahmana portions’’ (Keith, ibid., p. Ixxvi).

35. Schroder in his preface to the Maitrayani Samhita indeed tried to prove the
priority of the Kathaka and Maitrayani recensions, but failed to convince any
one.

36. Keith arrived at this conclusion regarding Taittiriya, Maitrayani, and Kathaka
(see HOS, XVIII. p. xevi). As regards the Kapishthala, see Oertel, Zur Kapis-
thala-Katha-SamhUd, Miinchen, 1934.

27. See Keith, op. cit., p. lxxvii. It should he noted that the Kapishthala, which is
closely related to the Kathaka, agrees with the latter to differ from the Rigveda
in 64 cases, and agrees with the Rigveda to differ from the Kathaka in 45 cases
(Oertel, op. cit.. pp. 9 ff. ).

38. Prolegomena, p. 319.

39. Op. cit.. p. xeix. This applies, pari passu, also to the Brahmafca -parts of the
other Samhitas of the Black Yajurveda.

40. Prolegomena, p. 318. Caland also says “there can be no doubt whatever that
the White Yajurveda is on the whole younger than the Black Yajurveda"
i Kanva Satapatha, Introd.. p. 92).

41. They are not, of course, for that reason of later origin.

42. See Eggeling. SBE, XII. p. xxx.

43. For further details about the Vdjosaneyi-SamfiUd, with which the Samhita of
the Kanva-sthool is practically identical, see Weber, HIL. 107 ff.

4-*. The word Vaitdnika signifies £rotriyas maintaining three fires (see Hillebrandt,
Rituallitteraiur. p. 69).

45. Bloomfield's excellent monograph on the Atha rvaveda-~ like which unfortunately
there is as yet nothing on any one of the other Samhitas — offers practically
everything that a student of the Vedic literature might wish to know about the
Ailxirvaveda. The section on the Atharvaveda in this chapter is mainly based
on Bloomfield’s monograph (published in the Grundriss).

46. Op. cit., p. 50.

47. Op. cit.. pp. 97-100.

48. For other recensions, sec Bloomfield, op. cit., p. 12.

49. Published many times.

50. Edited by Raghu Vira.

51. As pointed out. by Weber. Ind. 'Stud., XIII, p. 433.

52. As surmised already by Bloomfield, op. cit., p. 40.

53. Always the Saunakiya recension is to be understood unless the Paippalada is
specifically mentioned.

54. See footnote 8a.

243

THE VEDIC J*GE

55. A complete edition o£ this important, text by Raghu Vira is now appearing from
Lahore. The most interesting parts of it were published by Caland in his
“Auswahl.” For details about it, see Caland, Over en uit het Jaiminiya-Brahmana.
Some parts of the Jaiminiya-Brahmana were published for the first time by
the present writer in his Collection of Fragments of Lost Brahmanas (Calcutta,
1935).

56. Of w,hich the Madhyandina recension was published long ago by Weber and the
Kanva recension has been published by Caland (the first volume in 1926 and
the second in 1940) from Lahore.

57. Caland, Kanva- Satapat ha, Introd., p. 90.

58. Op. cit., p. 102. Bloomfield’s view appears to be the right one but it is opposed
by Caland ( Vaitdna Sutra, p. iv).

59. H/L, I, p. 234.

CO. A convenient account of them has been given by Winternitz, op. cit. pp. 225 ff.

61 . The Dharmasutras retained only a nominal affiliation .to particular Vedic schools.

62. Or rather prescribe, for the style is throughout prescriptive, and not descriptive.
This characteristic of the 6rauta-sutras is shared also by the Gj*ihya and Dharma¬
sutras. The Brahmanas, however, are truly descriptive.

63. To a lesser extent this method was followed also in the Gfihya-sutras.

64. The following brief account of Srauta-sutras is mainly based on Hiliebrandt,
Riiuallitteratur, § 7.

65. These Pratikas have been collected by Hiliebrandt in his edition of $<inkh. £r.
S., Vol. I, p. 628.

66. A Sudra can be killed at will according to Ait. Br., VII. 29.4.

67. This is the opinion also of Winternitz, op. cit., p. 278.

68. See Weber, H/L, p. 139.

69. See footnote 8a above.

70. Op. cit., p. 16.

71. According to the computation of Caland (Vaitana- Sutra, p. viii).

244

CHAPTER XIII

ARYAN SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA

I. GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES IN THE RIGVEDA

Although it is difficult to arrive at any definite conclusion re¬
garding the original home of the Jndo-Aryans, we are in a some¬
what better position in respect of their early settlements in northern
India and gradual expansion over the whole of this area. For here
the evidence of Vedic literature comes to our aid, and fortunately
the earliest part of it, the hymns of the Rigveda, contain abundant
geographical data. It is a reasonable presumption that the geo¬
graphical names which figure prominently or frequently in these
hymns indicate regions which were familiar to their authors, and
were scenes of the early activities of the Aryans. Names less pro¬
minent or frequent might be either outside settlements of the Aryans
or the border regions inhabited by non-Aryans. It must be remem¬
bered, however, that the Rigveda is not a geographical manual and its
various recensions have not come down to us in a complete form. It
would, therefore, be unsafe and hazardous to draw any inference from
the silence of the Rigveda. The non-mention of any locality in the
hymns cannot be construed as evidence, one way or the other, unless,
of course, it can be proved to be of such importance as to be inex¬
plicable except on the hypothesis of want of knowledge.

In order to ascertain the extent of the Aryan settlements in the
period of the Rigveda , we should, therefore, consider the references
to mountains, rivers, localities, countries, tribes, and kingdoms con¬
tained in the hymns. Courses of rivers, especially in the Punjab,
have considerably changed in the course of the last three or four
millennia. Their names have also varied in different times. . There
is, therefore, some difference of opinion with regard to the identi¬
fications of the rivers mentioned in the Vedic texts. The same is
the case regarding the location of the various tribes and countries
that figure in the Vedic texts, as their boundaries were subject 'to
constant modifications and they were known by different names in
different periods. But in spite of these difficulties it is possible to
form a fair idea of the location of quite a large number of them.

As regards mountains, only the Himalaya is directly mentioned
in the Rigveda , Mujavant, one of its peaks, being referred to as the
source of Soma. According to Zimmer, this peak was probably on
the south-west of the valley of Kashmir.

Rivers have all along played an important part in the lives of
the Hindus, and even in the Rigvedic age they were esteemed as
deities, presumably on account of the immense benefits they con¬
ferred on humanity. Out of thirty-one rivers mentioned in the

245

V.A. — 16

THE VEDIC AGE

Vedic texts, about twenty-five names occur in the hymns of the
Rigveda alone. In the celebrated Nadistuti (X. 75), the Rigveda
enumerates several streams most of which belong to the Indus system.

Outside the rivers in the Indus basin, are mentioned Ganga,
Yamuna, Sarasvati, and Sarayu. Ganga does not appear to be a
well known or even important stream in the period of the Rigveda.
Yamuna has been mentioned thrice in the Rigveda, which refers
to the great victory of Sudas and the Tritsus on the Yamuna in the
famous D&sardjna. The Sarasvati is the river par excellence ( Nadi -
tamd, RV, II 41. 16), and occurs most frequently in the Rigveda.
It seems to have been the holy stream of the Vedic age. In the
enumeration of rivers in the Nadistuti (X. 75.5) Sarasvati comes
between the Yamuna and SutudrI, and is generally identified with
the modem Sarsuti, which is lost in the desert at Bhatnair. Roth,
Zimmer, Griffith, and Ludwig hold that in many passages of the
Rigveda the Sindhu is meant by the Sarasvati.1 It may be observed
in this connection that it is possible that the Sarasvati was as large
as the Sutlej in the Vedic age, and actually reached the sea, as the
Rigveda (VI. 61.2, 8; VII. 95.2) describes it as going to the ocean.
The Sarasvati was the first of the Vedic rivers (11.41.16) and its
banks witnessed the development of the Vedic sacrifices.

The Drishadvati, which occurs many times along with the Sa¬
rasvati as an important stream, is identified by some with the
Ghaggar and by others with the modern Chittang.2 Between the
Sarasvati and Drishadvati, flowing past Thanesar, was the Apayo
(RV, III. 23.4), a small tributary of the Sarasvati. The Gomati
has been identified by some scholars with the Gomati, which meets
the Ganges to the east of Benares, and this identification may be
accepted in so far as the later Samhitas and Brahmanas are con¬
cerned. The Gomati of the Rigveda as mentioned in the Nadistuti
is, however, placed between the Kubha and Krumu. Hence, its
identification with the Gomal, a western tributary of the Indus,
seems more reasonable. Sarayu, on the eastern bank of which
Chitraratha and Arna were defeated by the Turvasa-Yadus, appears
to be the modem Sarju in Oudh, as suggested by Zimmer and
others.3 The identifications by Ludwig with the Krumu (Kurram)
and by St. Martin with the united course of the Sutudri (Sutlej)
and Vipai (Beas) are difficult to accept.

Then we pass on to the five streams, viz. the Sutudri, Vipas,
Parushni, Asikni, and Vitasta, which give the Punjab its name and.
united together, flow into the Indus. w The Nadistuti omits the Vipas
and inserts the Marudvridha between the Asikni and Vitasta. The
Sutudri is the most easterly river of the Punjab identified with the
modern Sutlej. True to its name, it has considerably changed its
course even during historical times. Vipas, “fetterless,” is the
modem Beas, which has also changed its course considerably. Its

246

ARYAN SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA

non-mention in the earlier Vedic literature except in two Rigveda-
hymns, coupled with its absence in the NadlstutiAxymn , supports
the hypothesis that it was of small importance.

ParushnI, the modern Ravi, was an important stream which
played a decisive part in the Ddsarajna (battle of the ten kings), by
rising and drowning the enemies of Sudas. Asiknl, known later
as the Chandrabhaga, is the modem Chenab in the Punjab. Finally
comes Vitasta, the most westerly of these five rivers, known today
as Jheluin. Roth and Zimmer consider that the Marudvfidha men¬
tioned in the Nadistuti (X. 75.5) denotes the combined waters of
the Asiknl (Chenab) and Vitasta (Jhelum) down to its junction
with the ParushnI (Ravi), and Chakladar accepts this view.4 Stein,
however, rightly places the Marudvridha in Kashmir, identifying it
with Maruwardwan, a small Kashmirian stream flowing from north
to south which joins the Chenab on its northern bank at Kashtwar.
Yaska identifies the Arjiklya and Sushoma, mentioned after the
Vitasta in the Nadlstutiy respectively with the Vipas and the Sindhu.6

Now we turn to the western tributaries of the Indus. The
Rasa has been identified with the Jaxartes, a stream in the extreme
north-west of the Vedic territory. The Kubha is the modem Kabul
river which flows into the Indus a little above Attock and receives
at Prang the joint flow of its tributaries, the Swat (Suvastu) and
Gauri. The Krumu or the Kurrarn and Gomati or the Gomal are
tributaries of the Indus meeting it further south. The Susartu and
Svetya appear to have been the tributaries of the Indus above the
Kubha, whereas the Mehatnu, Krumu, and Gomati are the three
tributaries below the Kubha.7 The Suvastu, as already stated, is
the Swat, a tributary of the Kubha, which itself is a tributary of
the Indus. The word Suvastu, signifying “fair dwellings, seems to
indicate that there was an Aryan settlement along its banks. Hari-
yuplya, the scene of the defeat of the Vrichlvants by Abhyavartin
Chkyamana (RV, VI. 27.5) has been taken either as denoting a place
or a river. As a place-name Harappa #has been suggested as the
modern name of Hariyuplya.8 Many other lesser streams have not
yet been identified with any degree of certainty, and are not men¬
tioned here.

In conclusion, we must consider also the implication of the
term Saptasindhavah as used in the Rigveda . The term means a
definite country in Rigveda , VIII. 24.27, whereas at other places
seven streams themselves are intended. According to Max Muller,
the seven rivers are the five rivers of the Punjab along with Indus
and Sarasvatl. Ludwig, Lassen, and Whitney substitute Kubha for
the Sarasvatl and think that originally the Oxus also must have
been one of the seven. Considering that the Rigveda mentions the
Kubha (Kabul), Gomati (Gumal), Krumu (Kurrarn), Suvastu

247

THE VEDIC AGE

(Swat), etc., which lie to the west of the Indus, it is possible that
the Rigvedic people knew of the existence of the Oxus. The rea¬
sonable view, however, appears to be to take the seven streams
to be the Indus, the five streams of the Punjab and the Sarasvati.

We may thus conclude that the extent of the country as reflected
in the hymns is, Afghanistan, the Punjab, parts of Sind and Raj-
putana, the North-West Frontier Province, Kashmir, and Eastern
India up to the Sarayu.

This conclusion is confirmed by another consideration. That
the Vedic people had not yet penetrated into the swampy jungles
of Bengal may be inferred from the absence of the mention of the
tiger in the Rigveda which assigns the premier place to the lion.8a

There is a difference of opinion among scholars as to the part
of India where the bulk of the Rigveda was composed. Max Muller,
Weber, Muir, and others held that the Punjab was the main scene
of the activity of the Rigveda , whereas the more recent view put
forth by Hopkins and Keith is that it was composed* in the country
round the Sarasvati river south of modern Ambala.9 Brunnhofer,
Hertel, Husing, and others, however, argue that the scene of the
Rigveda is laid, not in the Punjab, but in Afghanistan and Iran.19
These. and other theories need not be discussed in detail. Keith has
rightly observed that “conclusions can be drawn only with much
caution. It is easy to frame and support by plausible evidence va¬
rious hypotheses, to which the only effective objection is that other
hypotheses are equally legitimate, and that the facts are too imper¬
fect to allow of conclusions being drawn.”11

As the names of the rivers in the Rigveda show that the Vedic
people knew the whole of the Punjab and occupied, the best part of
it, there is no need to suppose the bulk of the hymns to have been
composed either in Iran or in the Ambala district.

It is a controversial question whether the Vedic tribes in the
days of the Rigveda had reached the ocean and had knowledge of sea
navigation. Keith and many other European scholars hold that
there is no clear indication in the Rigvedic period that ocean and sea
navigation were known.12 Max MUller, Lassen, Zimmer, and the
authors of the Vedic Index on the other hand assert that ocean
was known to the Rigvedic people.13 This seems to be the more
probable view. The Sarasvati is stated to have reached the sea
(above, p. 246), and the hymns X. 136, 5 and 6 seem clearly to refer
to the western and eastern oceans. References to the treasures of
the ocean and to Bhujyu’s story appear to allude to marine naviga¬
tion. The knowledge of high tide can be inferred from Rigveda ,
1.48.3. All these references indubitably prove that the Rigvedic
people not only knew the sea, but were mariners and had trade re¬
lations with the outside world.

248

ARYAN SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA

2. THE TRIBES IN THE RIGVEDA

The whole of the territory known to the Vedic settlers was
divided into a number of tribal principalities ruled normally by
kings. The Dasarajna or the battle of the ten kings is an important
historical event alluded to in various hymns of the Rigveda, and as
many of the important tribes and personalities figured in this famous
battle, it is worth while outlining the conflict. Sudas was a Bha-
rata king of the Tritsu family which was settled in the country
which later came to be known as Brahmavarta. At first Visvamitra,
a scion of the Kusika family of the Bharatas, was the priest of
Sudas, and led him to victorious campaigns on the Vipas and Su-
tudri. Visvamitra, however, was dismissed later by Sudas, who
appointed Vasishtha as his priest, probably on account of the supe¬
rior Brahmanical knowledge of the Vasishthas. Thereupon a long
and bitter rivalry ensued between the two priests, and in revenge
Visvamitra led a tribal confederacy of ten kings against the Bha¬
ratas, the federation consisting of the five well-known tribes Puru,
Yadu, Turvasa, Anu, and Druhyu, along with five of little note,
viz. Alina, Paktha, Bhalanas, Siva, and Vishanin. In the bloody
and decisive struggle on the ParushpT, the Bharatas emerged vic¬
torious, utterly routing the confederacy, of whom the Anu and
Druhyu kings were drowned, and Purukutsa of the Purus met his
death. There was another battle that Sudas had to fight in which
the three non-Aryan tribes, Ajas, Sigrus, and Yakshus had united
under king Bheda; but these new assailants also met with the same
fate and were defeated with great slaughter on the Jumna. The
location of these tribes, along with their activities in the period of
the Rigveda, will now be considered in the order of their importance
as far as possible.

The Bharatas, who gave their name to the whole country, are
the most important of the Rigvedic tribes. They were settled, in
the Rigvedic age, in the region between the SarasvatT and Yamuna
The Bharatas appear prominently in the Rigveda in relationship
with Sudas and the Tritsus, and are enemies of the Purus. Their
princes sacrificed on the SarasvatT, DrishadvatT, and Apava, i.e.
Kurukshetra of later times. Their military prowess in the Rig¬
vedic age, displayed in their successful campaigns both against the
Aryans on the west and the non-Aryans in the east, is matched by
the superiority of their cult and ritual practices which seem to have
attained prominence and supremacy in a later period. Visvamitra
is referred to as a Bharatarshabha and a Kausika, so that he belonged
to the Kusika family of the Bharatas.

The exact relation of the Tritsus and Bharatas cannot be deter¬
mined and there is a sharp difference of opinion among scholars on
this subject. The Tritsus occupied the country to the east of the
ParushnT. Both being enemies of the Purus, Ludwig’s identifica-

249

THE VEDIC AGE

lion of the Bharatas and Tjritsus appears to be correct. Oldenberg,
however, takes the Tpitsus to be the priests of the Bharatas, thus
identifying them with the Vasishthas, whereas according to Geldner,
the Tfitsus were the royal family of the Bharatas, which appears to
be the mpst probable view. Zimmer’s theory representing the
Tpitsus and Bharatas as enemies is clearly untenable. The Tritsus
and their kinsfolk the Bharatas were at war with the various tribes
on both sides of the Parushni and Yamuna, as already stated. In
post-Rigvedic times, however, they coalesced with the Purus, their
erstwhile enemies, to form the Kuru people of later times. The
Rigveda refers to the Sjinjayas as being the allies of the Tritsus.
The Tpitsus apparently had hereditary kings to rule over them. One
of them, Divodasa, sumamed Atithigva, was a great conqueror, who
successfully fought against the Purus, Yadus, and Turvasas on the
one hand, and against Sambara, the Dasa king, the Panis, etc., on
the other. Sudas, the son of Pijavana, was a descendant of Divo¬
dasa; his exploits in the Dasarajna and against Bheda have been
referred to. He was not only a famous warrior, but ‘also a great
scholar and composer of hymns.

The Purus have been mentioned in the Rigveda along with
Anus, Druhyus, Turvaias, and Yadus. Though defeated in the
DdsardjUa, the Purus were a very important tribe in the days of the
Rigveda. They were closely connected with the Tritsus and the
Bharatas, and lived on either side of the Sarasvatl. The unusually
large number of kings of the Purus suggests the importance of the
tribe. The various names indicate the following genealogy of the
Puru kings: Durgaha — Girikshit — Purukutsa — Trasadasyu. Puru-
kutsa is mentioned as a contemporary of Sudas and a conqueror of
the Dasas; a son Trasadasyu is said to have been bom to Purukutsa
at a time of great distress, probably indicating his death or capture
in the famous Dasarajna .u The mention of Sudas or Divodasa
and Purukutsa or Trasadasyu in a friendly relation in some passages
of the Rigveda suggests the union of the Tritsus, Bharatas, and Purus
to form the Kurus. The name “Kuru” is not directly mentioned in
the Rigveda , but the amalgamation of these rival tribes in later
Vedic period under Kuru is implied by the name Kurusravana of a
king of the Puru line as shown by his patronymic Trasadasyava
(RV, X. 33.4).

Connected with the Kurus were the Krivis, a comparatively
unimportant tribe who possibly lived on the Sindhu (Indus) and
the Asikni (Chenab), and later moved to the east across the Yamuna
to the land later known as Pahchala. The insignificance of the
Krivis in later literature as compared with the importance of the
Pahchalas is probably due to the fact that the later Kuru-Panchala
alliance included not only the Bharatas and other tribes but Krivis

250

ARYAN SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA

also. The Satapatha Brdhmcuna asserts that Krivi was the older
name of the Panchalas (XIII. 5.4.7).

Closely allied with the Tritsus was the tribe of the Srinjayas
who lived in their neighbourhood, probably in Panchala. Hille-
brandt locates the Srinjayas to the west of the Indus, and Zimmer,
on the upper Indus. As their allies the Tritsus were in the Madhya-
desa, the authors of the Vedic Index rightly suggest that the Sfinja-
yas may well have been a good deal further east than the Indus.
Daivavata, a king of the Srinjayas, is celebrated as victorious over
the Turvasas and the Vrichlvants. Daivavata’s sacrificial fire is
referred to, and Sahadevya Somaka is mentioned in this connection.
Prastoka, a Srinjaya, has been lauded along with Divodasa. Tur¬
vasas were the common enemies of the Srinjayas and Bharatas.

The Anus, Druhyus, Yadus, and Turvasas were the allies of the
Purus against the Bharatas. These five, according to Zimmer, are
the “five peoples” ( Pafichajandh ) of the Rigveda. The expression
“five peoples” occurs under various names in the Rigveda and .later
Vedic literature. Who exactly are indicated by the five is not quite
certain.16

Among the tribes who were hostile to Sudas, the Druhyus,
Turvasas, and Anus lived between the Asiknl and Parushgi. The
names Yadu and Turvasa normally occur together in the Rigveda .
These two closely allied tribes lived in the southern Punjab and
probably further south. Hopkins regards Turvasa as the name of
the Yadu king;16 but the evidence for this is not conclusive. Zim¬
mer identifies Turvasas with Vrichlvants, but the passages merely
show that they were allies. The name Turvaia disappears from
later Vedic literature, possibly because they became merged in
the Panchala people.

The Matsyas in the epic age lived to the west of the Sura-
senas of Mathura, i.e. in modem Alwar, Bharatpur, and Jaipur,
which was probably their home also in the Rigvedic age.17

The Ajas, Sigrus, and Yakshus were probably the eastern
people. They are generally regarded as non- Aryan, though there
is no definite information on this point.

The Pakthas, Bhalanases, Vishanins, Alinas, and Sivas were
the five frontier tribes. The Pakthas lived in the hills from which
the Krumu originates. Zimmer locates them in eastern Afghanis¬
tan, identifying them with the modern Pakthun. South of the
Pakthas stretched the Bhalanases for whom Zimmer suggests east
Kabulis tan as original home. The Vishanins, so-called probably
because their helmets were horn-shaped or ornamented with horns,
were, like their allies, a tribe of the north-west, located farther down
between the Krumu and the Gomati. North-east of Kafiristan has
been suggested as the location of the Alinas, who were closely
allied with the Pakthas, and were certainly the enemies of Sudas,

251

THE VEDIC AGE

and not his allies, as thought by Both. The Sivas lay between the
Sindhu and Vitasta in the Vedic period.18

Now we turn to the other tribes which have not been directly
mentioned as participants in the Dasarajna, or in any of the wars
waged by Sudas.

The Chedis, who dwelt probably between the Yamuna and
the Vindhyas, had a very powerful king named Kasu who is said
in a Danastuti (VIII. 5.37-39) to have made a gift of ten kings as
slaves to his priest. The Puranic literature represents the Chedis
as an offshoot of the Yadus.

The Usinaras are mentioned in the Aitareya Brdhmana as
dwelling in the middle country along with the Vasas and the Kuru-
Panchalas. There is nothing to support Zimmer's conjecture that
the Usinaras in the Rigvedic times lived farther to the north-west,
and it is reasonable to suppose that in the Bigvedic period also
they lived in the middle country.

The Gandharis, one of the frontier peoples, lived to the ex¬
treme north-west of India. The good wool of the sheep of the
Gandharis has been referred to in the Rigveda (I. 126. 7). Accord¬
ing to Zimmer they were settled in the Vedic times on the south
bank of the Kubha up to its junction with the Indus and for some
distance down the east side of the Indus itself.

Ludwig and Weber find in certain Rigvedic passages which
mentioned Prithu-Prasvah ( RV , VII. 83. 1: meaning “with large
ribs,” or “with broad axes”) a reference to the Prithus and Par&us,
i.e. the Parthians and the Persians. The meaning and sense in
the passages, however, require the word Pai£u to be taken as “ribs.”
In a passage of the Rigveda (VIII. 6. 46) Yadu is brought into special
connection with the Parsus. It cannot, however, be definitely stated
that the Parous were Persians.

The Paravatas occurring in several passages of the Rigveda
have been rightly taken as a people on the Yamuna on the strength
of the mention of the Sarasvatl in their connection (RV, VI. 61. 2)
as also of their location there in the Panchavimsa Brahmccna. Their
location on the northern borders of Gedrosia, as proposed by Hille-
brandt and Geldner, does not appear to be correct.

The Kikafas occur in the Rigveda (III. 53. 14) as a people under
Pramaganda’s leadership and hostile to the singer. Zimmer, on
Yaska’s authority, takes these people as non-Aryans and locates
them in the country later known as Magadha. Weber accepts the
location but takes them to be Aryans, though at variance with the
other Aryan tribes.

The Panis are often mentioned with the Dasas and Dasyus as
the enemies of the Aryans. Though opulent and ich, the Panis
never worshipped the gods or rewarded the priests. They have
been described as selfish, non-sacrificing, with hostile speech.

252

ARYAN SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA

greedy like the wolf, niggardly, of cruel speech, Dasyus, Dasas of
inferior status. They were cattle-owners and notorious cattle-
lifters, and in some passages definitely figure as demons who with¬
held the cows or waters of the heavens. Vala, whom Indra pier¬
ced when he robbed Parti of his cows, appears to be their patron
God. Bpbu is mentioned as one of their kings. The question of
the identity of the Panis has not yet been settled with any degree
of certainty. The words Panik or Vapik, Partya, and Vipani,
found in Sanskrit, suggest that the Panis were merchants par ex¬
cellence in the Rigvedic age. The Panis have been variously iden¬
tified with an aboriginal non-Aryan people; with Babylonians (on
the strength of the word Bekanata); with Parnians, the Dahae and
other Iranian tribes; and with non-Aryan caravan traders. They
might have been the Aryan sea-traders who spread the Aryan
culture to the west.

Derived from the same root (das, “lay waste” or “waste away”)
which originated the word Dasyu, the Dasas have been described
as the enemies of the Vedic people, sometimes of a demoniac cha¬
racter; but many passages speak of them as the human foes of the
Aryans. They lived in fortified towns ( ayasih purah) and were
divided into clans ( visah ). Dasavarna has been alluded to a num¬
ber of times, and the Dasas are said to be black-skinned (kfishnat-
vach ), noseless or flat-nosed ( ands ) and evil-tongued (mridhra-
vach), some of these epithets being shared in common with Dasyus.
In the Rigveda, Dasa is not so reproachful a term as Dasyu. As
Dasa in later literature became a synonym for slave, it can plausibly
be said that originally the term was applied to captives in war
who were enslaved. Hillebrandt and others identify the Dasas
with the Dahae of Iran,18a as they place the scene of activity of the
Rigveda in Arachosia, where they locate the Sarasvatl.

The Dasas owned considerable wealth, and Ilibisa, Dhuni,
Chumuri, 6ambara, Varchin, Pipru, etc., have been mentioned as
individual Dasa kings, some of whom later received demoniac attri¬
butes, and were regarded as celestial foes of Indra and other gods.
The Kiratas, Klkatas, Chan^alas. Parnakas, Simyus, etc., were Dasa
tribes who mostly inhabited the Gangetic Valley and fought the
Bharatas in their advance to the east and south-east.

Though in many passages the term Dasyu is applied to super¬
natural enemies, there is no doubt that in several passages the
term designates human foes. The main difference between the
Dasyus and the Vedic Aryans appears to be religious. The Dasyus
were rite-less (a-karman), indifferent to the gods (a-devavu),
without devotion ( a-brahman ), not sacrificing "(a-pajuan), lawless
( cuvrata ), following strange ordinances ( anyavrata ), reviling the gods
( deva-piyu), etc. Some of these epithets have been applied also to
the Dasas, as compared to whom they are less distinctively a people,

253

THE VEDIC AGE

as no clans (visah) of the Dasyus have been mentioned. Zimmer
and Meyer think that the original meaning of the term Dasyu (and
Dasa) was “enemy,” which later developed into “hostile country''
with the Iranians, while the Indians extended the original signi¬
fication of “enemy” to include demon foes. That to the Rigvedic
bards there was not much difference between the Dasas and
Dasyus would be evident from their sharing some epithets in com¬
mon, and also from some persons being described both as Dasyu
and Dasa, etc.

The Asuras are generally referred to as enemies of Vedic
people and of their gods, but some passages use the term in a good
sense. One probable explanation of this has been hinted at be¬
fore.19 Another, suggested by Bhandarkar, is that the hymns in
which Vedic deities receive the appellation Asura were composed
by seers of Asura stock who had embraced the Aryan religion,
and the deprecatory passages were composed by Aryan seers anta¬
gonistic to the Asuras.20 The enmity between Aryan and Asura
increased in the post-Rigvedic period.

It is indeed difficult to identify the Asuras with any of the
ancient people. Sten Konow takes them to be non-human.
Banerji Sastri considers the Asuras as immigrants from Assyria,
the followers of the Asura cult who preceded the Aryans in India
and were the authors of the Indus Valley civilization. Bhandar¬
kar takes the Asuras to be the Assurs or Assyrians and suggests
that the Satapatha Brahmana refers to the Asura settlements in.
Magadha or South Bihar.

The Rakshas does not indicate any definite tribe; according
to the authors of the Vedic Index it normally refers to demons in
early Vedic literature, and is applied to human foes only meta¬
phorically. The Pisachas also likewise are not a tribe in Vedic
literature though in later literature it is the designation of a tribe.

As a result of the above survey we may briefly indicate the
position and extent of the tribal settlements referred to in the Rigeda.
Roughly speaking the extreme north-west was occupied by the
Gandharis, Pakthas, Alinas, Bhalanases, and Vishanins, some of
whom probably contained non-Aryan elements. In Sind and the
Punjab were settled the Sivas, Parsus, Kekayas, Vrichivants, Yadus,
Anus, Turvasas, and Druhyus. Further east tovrards the region of
the Madhyadesa were the settlements of the Tritsus, Bharatas,
Purus, and Srinjayas, the eastern-most part being in the occupation
of the Kikafas. The Matsyas and Chedis were settled to the south
of the Punjab in the region of Rajputana and Malwa. It may
thus be reasonably concluded that the Aryan settlements during
the period of the Rigveda were practically co-terminous with
the extent of the geographical knowledge of the period, as mentioned
above.

254

ARYAN SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA

3. THE PERIOD OF THE LATER SAMHITAS,
BRAHMANAS, UPANISHADS, AND SUTRAS

I. Geographical Names

We may form a fair idea of the Aryan settlements in the post-
Rigvedic period, by utilizing the geographical data of the later Vedic
texts and following the same line of enquiry as in the last two sec¬
tions.

The word Samudra in later Vedic texts generally, if not in¬
variably, means the sea. The reference in the Satapatha Brdhmcma
(1. 6. 3. 11) to the eastern and western oceans probably suggests
that the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean were known to the
people of that period.

Trikakud (i.e. having three peaks), as the name of a moun¬
tain in the Himalayas, has been identified with modern Trikota.
Krauncha, which occurs only in the Taittiriya Aranyaka (1. 31. 2),
has been identified with that part of the Kailasa mountain on
which Manasa Sarovara is situated.21 Mainaka is mentioned in
the same text as a mountain in the Himalayas. Though not direct¬
ly mentioned, Vindhya has been definitely alluded to in the Kau-
shitaki Upanishad by the term “southern mountain.”

Turning to the rivers, the most striking fact is the dis¬
appearance of the Sarasvatl. The place where the river vanished
in the desert was known as Vinaiana (Patiala District), and it re¬
appeared at Plaksha Prasravana at a distance of forty-four days’
journey from Vina£ana.

Naturally enough, the rivers further to the east find a promi¬
nent mention in this period. Reva, the name of the Narmada
which occurs only in post-Vedic literature, is traced by Weber in
the word Revottaras found in the Satapatha Brahmana ; but the
interpretation is doubtful. The Sadanira has been mentioned in
the Satapatha Brahmana (I. 1. 1. 14 ff.) as the boundary between
the Kosalas and Videhas. Some lexicographers have identified it
with the Karatoya, but according to the Vedic Index , it is too far east.
Weber and Eggeling identify it with the Gandak, and Pargiter
with the Rapti. Though the Mahdbhdrata (Cr. Ed. II. 18. 27),
by placing the Sadanira between the Gandak and Sarayu, distin¬
guishes between the Sadanira and Gandak, the Vedic Index pro¬
nounces the identification of the two as “probably correct.”22

The later Vedic texts mention various place-names which can
be identified with reasonable certainty. Parichakra, mentioned in
the Satapatha Brdhvrurna (^CEEI. 5. 4. 7) as the name of a Panchala
town where king Kraivya Paiichala performed his horse-sacrifice,
has been identified by Weber with the later Ekachakra which was
near Kampila. Asandivat is the title of the capital of Janamejaya
Parikshita where the horse for his famous Asvamedha was bound

255

THE VEDIC AGE

(gat. Br., XIII. 5. 4. 2; Ait Br, VIII. 21) It was apparently
in the Kurukshetra. It was probably identical with Nagasahvaya
(Hastinapura) which was abandoned by Nichakshu, a descendant
of Parikshit, on its being washed away by the Ganges, and the
capital was removed to Kausambl.23 Kamplla, found in the £ata-
patha Brahmana, has been identified with modem Kampil on the
old Ganges between Budaun and Farrukhabad. Naimisha forest,
mentioned as being clearly of special sanctity, has been identified
with Nimsar at a short distance from the Nimsar station of the
Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway. The Taittiriya Aranyaka (V. 1. 1)
mentions the Manus as the TJtkara (heap) of Kurukshetra. This
can be identified with the later Marusthala (Maru deserts) as it
stood in the relation of Utkara to the sacred altar Kurukshetra.
The existence of Kausambl which plays an important part in the
life of king Udayana Vatsaraja can be inferred from the word
Kauiambeya in the Satapatha Brahmana (XII. 2. 2. 13). The town
has been identified with modem Kosam on the Yamuna.

The later Vedic literature refers to the three broad divisions —
Brahmavarta or Aryavarta, Madhyadesa, and Dakshinapatha. There
is also a five-fold division with the enumeration of the residents
therein which we come across for the first time in the Aitareya
Brahmana (VIII. 14), though it has, in a way, been anticipated by
the Atharvaveda (XIX. 17. 1. 9). The Aitareya Brahmana divi¬
des the whole country into five parts, viz. 1. Dhruva Madhyama
Pratishthd dis or Madhyadesa or middle country, 2. Prdchldis or
the eastern quarter, 3. Dakshinadis or the southern quarter, 4.
Pratichidis or the western quarter, and 5. Udichidis or the northern
quarter. The extent and limits of these divisions cannot be defined
with any degree of plausibility.

2. The Tribes

The status, formation, and nomenclature of the various tribes
mentioned in the Rigveda underwent considerable changes during
the period under review. Many of the old tribes disappear, pale
into insignificance, are merged into others, or are known under new
names, and many fresh tribes rise into prominence. The five pre¬
mier tribes of the Punjab, the Purus, Anus, Druhyus, Yadus, and
Turvasas recede into the background. The Purus, as already indi¬
cated, have along with the Bharatas amalgamated with the Kurus
who occupy the territory these two tribes held, and along with their
allies, the Panchalas, are the pre-eminent people in the period.
The Bharatas as a tribe disappear, but the fame of their kings is
not lost to the texts of this period. Bharata Dauhshanti and Satra-
jita are mentioned as famous kings and performers of the Asva-
medha, and Bharata kings are spoken of as winning victories over

256

ARYAN SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA

the. Kasis and Satvants and as performing sacrifices on the Gahga
and the Yamuna.

The Kurus along with Pahchalas, Vasas and Usinaras occu¬
pied the Madhyadesa. The Kurus do not appear as a people in
the Rigveda, but Kuru forms part of the name of a king, Kurusra-
vana, mentioned therein. The Atharvaveda (XX. 127. 7-10)
speaks of the Kuru king Parik$hit in whose reign the Kuru king¬
dom flourished exceedingly. Reference is made to his descendant
Janamejaya who performed an Asvamedha at Asandivat, probably
Hastinapura of later days. The Kuru kingdom roughly corres¬
ponded to modem Thanesar, Delhi, and the Upper Gangetic Doab.24

The Pahchalas, the close allies of the Kurus as indicated by
their joint name, were also a composite tribe. The name does not
appear in the Rigveda , but the Satapatha Brahmana states that
the older name for the Pahchalas was Krivi which is found in the
Rigveda. Weber and Geldner suggest that the Pahchalas repre¬
sent the five tribes of the Rigveda; but this is not very probable
according to the authors of the Vedic Index.26

We hear very little of the Pahchalas alone apart from the
Kurus. Their kings Kraivya and $ona Satrasaha are spoken of
as having performed the Asvamedha, and another king Durmukha
is said to have conquered the whole earth. One of their kings
Pravahana Jaivali appears as a philosopher king in the Upanishads.

The Vedic texts do not know of north Pahchala and south Pah¬
chala which we come across in the Mahabharata and the Puranas;
evidently the Pahchalas had extended their country by conquests
in post-Vedic times. The territory of the Pahchalas roughly corres¬
ponded to the Bareilly, Budaun, Farrukhabad, and adjoining dis¬
tricts of the United Provinces.26

The Kuru-Pahchalas are the people par excellence in the Brah¬
mana period, and they are referred to as a united nation. At one
time the Kuru-Panchalas are said to have had one king. The mode
of sacrifice of the Kuru-Panchalas is spoken of as the best, and their
Brahmaaias gained eminence and fame in the period of the Upani¬
shads. The Xuru-Pahchala kings, the models for others, performed
Raj asuy as and set out on their victorious raids in autumn and return¬
ed in summer. Speech is said to have been best spoken there, and
the Samhitas and Brahmanas seem to have taken their definite form
among the Kuru-Panchalas.

We have seen that the Srihjayas were closely allied with the
Tritsus in the Rigvedic age. The Satapatha Brahmana (II. 4. 4. 5)
supports this view by stating that the Kurus (who were the suc¬
cessors of the Tritsus, Bharatas, and Purus in post-Rigvedic age)
and the Srihjayas had one Purohita. The Satapatha Brahmana
(XII. 9.3. iff.) further refers to a historical incident relating to
this clan. The Yajurveda Samhitas refer to the Srihjayas having

257

T VEDIC AGE

suffered some serious loss due to some ritual error, though what
exactly befell them is not mentioned.

Vitahavya, mentioned in the Rigveda (VI. 15. 2, 3) along with
Bharadvaja and as a contemporary of Sudas, may have been a
king of the Sripjayas. In the Atharvaveda (VI. 137. 1), he appears
as connected with Jamadagni and Asi:a; but this legend has pro¬
bably little value. The Vltahavyas are said to have come to ruin
because they devoured a Brahmana ’s cow (AV, V. 18. 10-11; 19. 1).

Vasas and Uiinaras, as stated earlier, were dwelling in the
middle country with the Kuru-Pahohalas. The Gopatha Bmh
mana which speaks of the Vasas and Usinaras as united (I. 2, 9)
regards them as northerners (II. 9). These Usinaras according to
Weber were the forefathers of the later Kasis and Videhas.27 The
Kaushitaki Upanishad (IV. 1) connects the Vasas also with the
Matsyas. The country of the Vasas, who later came to be known as
Vatsas, was situated round about Kausambi, their capital.

The &ibis were intimately associated with the Usinaras. The
Aitareya Brahmana (VIII. 23., 10) refers to Amitra tapana , a king
of the Sibis. Rigveda X. 179 has been ascribed by the Anukramani
to Sibi Ausinara. Sivapura, which has been identified with Sibi-
pura mentioned in a Shorkot inscription,28 is referred to by Patah-
jali (IV. 2. 2) as situated in the northern country. The $ibis in¬
habited the Shorkot region in Jhang in the Punjab lying between
the Iravati and the Chandrabhaga.

Matsyas appear in connection with the Vasas in the Kaushi¬
taki Upanishad and with the Salvas in the Gopatha Brahmana
(I. 2. 9). Their king Dhvasan Dvaitavana, who performed the
sacrifice at the lake Dvaitavana, is included in the list of Asva-
medhins in the £atapatha Brahmana (XIII. 5.4.9) According to
the Manusmjriti (II. 19; VII. 193) the Matsyas were included in the
BrahmarshideSa.

The Salvas are mentioned in the Satapatha Brahmana
(X. 4. 1. 10). The Mantrapatha indicates their location near the
Yamuna, and it is not likely that they were in the north-west in
Vedic times. The epic associates the Salvas with the Kuru-Pan-
chalas, and they occupied probably what is now the modem Alwar
state.

The name Ikshvaku occurs but once in the Rigveda (X. 60. 4)
where it denotes a prince. The &atapatha Brahmana knows Puru-
kutsa as Aikshvaka (XIII. 5. 4. 5), so that some scholars take the
Ikshvaku line to have originally been a line of princes of the
Kurus, who were on the Saras vati in the Vedic period, whereas
Ikshvaku is connected with Ayodhya and the eastern peoples.

Kosala and Videha do not appear in the earlier Vedic litera¬
ture, being first mentioned in the &atapatha Brahmana (I. 4. 1. 10 ff.)
which relates the story of the spread of the Aryan culture. Videgha

258

ARYAN SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA

Mathava, the king of the Videhas, accompanied by his priest
Gotama Rahugaiia, is spoken of as carrying the sacrificial fire from
the bank of the Sarasvati over Kosala (Oudh) eastwards across the
Sadanlra, and as establishing a settlement which was known as
Videha (Tirhut) after the tribal name of Mathava. The story
preserves the tradition that the Videhas received their culture
from the west, that Kosala was Brahmanized before Videha, that
the country as far as the Sadanlra was conquered in one sweep,
and that the progress was checked for a while after which Videha
was founded across the river. The later division of Kosala into
the northern and southern is not known to the Vedic literature.

Para-Ap?ara-HairaiTiyanabha, the Kosala king, is spoken of as
the performer of an Aivamedha (£at. Br., XIII. 5. 4. 4). The
close connection between the Kosalas, Videhas, and Kasis is indi¬
cated by the fact that the three had the same Purohita acting for *
them (Sdnkh. £7*. S. XVI. 29. 5). It appears, however, that the
Kosala-Videhas were allied tribes and that there was some differ¬
ence and rivalry between these and the Kuru-Panchalas. The
Brahmanism was not as strong in Kosala as among the Kuru-Pan¬
chalas. The Videhas rose into eminence later through their philo¬
sopher king Janaka who was a leading patron of the Upanishadic
doctrines.

Ka£i, along with Kosala and Videha, came into prominence
only in later Vedic age. The Kasis and Videhas were closely con¬
nected on account of their proximity, and Weber suggests that these
two together constituted the Usinaras.29 This, however, cannot be
accepted, as the Usinaras dwelt in the middle country. Kasi and
Kosala are also found together. There is the story of the defeat
of Dhritarashtra, king of Kasis, by Satanlka Satrajita. a Bharata
king, resulting in the giving up of the kindling of the sacred fire
down to the time of the Salapatha Brchmana (XIII. 5.4.19). The
relations of these eastern people with the Kuru-Panchalas appear
to have been anything but friendly. Political conflict and cultural
difference are said to be the probable causes of the rivalry between
the two sets.

Still farther off from the old centre of Vedic culture were the
Magadhas who make their appearance only in later Vedic literature,
and are regarded throughout as of little importance. Magadha
corresponds roughly to southern Bihar. The name occurs for the
first time in the Atharvaveda (V. 22.14), where a wish is expressed
that the fever may visit the Gandharis, the Mujavants, the Angas
and the Magadhas, the first two being northern people and. the
latter, f eople of the east. In the Vratya hymn (AV, XV. 2. 1-4) the
Magadhas are associated with the Vratyas. The Yajurveda includes
Magadha in the list of victims at Purushamedha. Zimmer regards
Magadha referred to in the Atharvaveda and Yajurveda as a member
of the mixed caste born of a Vaisya and Kshatriya. But the fact

259

THE VEDIC AGE

that the Sutras and the Aitareya Arcenyaka mention Magadha as
a country shows that in the period of the Yajurveda and Atharva¬
veda, Magadha meant a resident* of the country and not a member
of the 4xxixed -caste — anoutcaste born of Pratiloma marriage. The
authors of the Vedic Index account for the fact of Magadha being
a minstrel in later days by assuming Magadha as the home of min¬
strelsy, bards from which visited more western lands.30 This class
has been taken by later Smjriti texts as belonging to a separate caste,
inventing a story of the inter-marriage of castes for their origin.
The dislike of the Magadhas, which may go back to the times of
the fjiigveda, was probably due to their not being wholly Brahma*
nized.

The Ahgas, unknown to the Rigveda, are mentioned in the
Atharvaveda (V. 22) as noted above. There is nothing in the Vedic
texts to indicate their location beyond the fact that they were
people of the east; but as in later times their settlements were
on the rivers Son and the Ganges, it may be presumed that their
earliest seat also was in the same region. They have been associated
with the Magadhas in some texts. There is no evidence in Vedic
literature for Pargiter’s view that the Ahgas and Magadhas were
non- Aryan peoples that came overseas to eastern India.31 Olden-
berg, however, thinks that these tribes were the earlier Aryan
immigrants. Confirmation for this may be found in the Puranic
evidence which speaks of the Ikshvakus and Videhas being of the
same stock and as inhabiting the country since Rigvedic times.

The Magadha is brought into close connection with the Vratya in
the mystical hymn of the Atharvaveda where he is celebrated as a
type of the supreme power in the universe. The Yajurveda in¬
cludes the Vratya in the list of victims at Purushamedha (human
sacrifice). The Vratyas were regarded as outcastes, and the Athar¬
vaveda, Pahchavimia Brdhmana, and the Sutras describe a certain
rite intended to secure for them admission into the Brahmaaja fold.
The Vratyas were a nomadic tribe (Vrdta) and neither studied the
Vedas, nor ploughed the land, nor traded. Their nomad life is
further suggested by their going about in rough wagons, with herds
of goats, wearing turbans and wielding a particular kind of bow.

Because the later Dharmasutras describe the Vratya as an
outsider, a man of mixed origin and of peculiar dress and habits,
Both, Whitney, Bloomfield, Chanda, and others regard the Vratya
as non-Aryan. The early Vedic texts do not support this view.
The Vratyas, though uninitiated, spoke the speech of the initiated.
Their speech, though Aryan, had apparently resembled Prakrit
rather than Vedic Sankrit, as they softened hard consonants. The
Sutras mention arhants and yaudhas among the Vratyas, correspond¬
ing respectively to Brahmanas and Kshatriyas in the Brahmanical
hierarchy. These particulars, coupled with the fact that they were

260

ARYAN SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA

allowed to become members of the Brahmapa community by per¬
forming a specific ritual, evidently show that the Vratyas were not
non- Aryans but were Aryans outside the sphere of Brahmapa culture.

Their location cannot be indicated with certainty. Their life
and habits would suggest them to be nomadic western tribes beyond
the Sarasvatl. There are, however, certain indications in the Sutras
which definitely connect the Vrfityas with the Magadha so that the
conclusion that some Vratyas were dwellers in Magadha is irresis¬
tible.

Vanga, from which Bengal proper receives its designation, is
not found in early Vedic literature. The Aitareya Aranyaka (11.1.1)
mentions Vangas, Vagadhas, and Cheras as birds, which probably
means that they were non- Aryans speaking languages not intelligible
to the Aryans. Vagadha in the text appears to be a misreading for
Magadha, as both were neighbours. Vangas were residents of
Vanga or Eastern Bengal. The name also occurs in the Baudhayana
Dharma-sutra.

The tribes mentioned above occupied the first two of the five
divisions,- -viz. the Middle and Eastern regions, mentioned in the
Aitareya Brahmana. In the Dakshinadis, or the Southern region,
Satvants alone are mentioned in the Aitareya Brahmana . But besides
them there were Vidarbhas, Nishadhas, and Kuntis.

The Satvants have been mentioned as the name of a people be¬
longing to the south who were the subjects of the Bhoja kings..
These people were subjected to regular raids by the Bharatas, and
the Satapatha Brahmana (XIII. 5.4.21) refers to the defeat of the
Satvants by king Bharata who took away their horse prepared for
the Aivamedha. The Satapatha Brahmana (VIII. 5.4.11)) further
indicates that these Satvants lived near Bharata’s kingdom, i.e.
near the Ganga and Yamuna. They seem to have moved farther
south by the time, of the Aitareya Brahmana which places them
in the southern region beyond the Madhyadesa, probably beyond
the river Chambal (Charmanavati) 32 The Purapas corroborate the
close relation of the Bhojas and Satvants who have been spoken of
as the offshoots of the Yadu family.

Vidarbha is known through its king Bhlma, mentioned in the
Aitareya Brahmana (VII. 34) as having received instruction about
the substitute for the Soma from Parvata and Narada. The Vidar¬
bha kingdom was said to be famous for its special breed of hounds,
which killed tigers ( Jaim Up. Brd. 11.440). Vidarbha, as is well
known, corresponds to modern Berar. Lassen places Vidarbha along
the Satpura hills to the north-west of Berar.33 The Upanishads
refer to Bhargava, a sage of Vidarbha, as a contemporary of Aivala-
yana and to Vaidarbht Kouiidinya. Kuptfina, the capital of Vidarbha,
has been identified with the modern Kauptfinyapura on the bank
of the Wardha* in the Chandur taluk of Amraoti.34

261

\W -IT

THE VEDIC AGE

The Satapatha Brahmana (III. 3.2.1, 2) mentions the term
Naishidha as an epithet of Natfa, a king of the south. The later
form of the name is Naishadha. The Nishadiias, residents of the
Nishadha, country, were quite distinct from the Nishadas with whom
they are often confounded. “Nishada” was a general term used for a
non-Aryan tribe, whereas the Nishadhas, in all probability belonged
to the Aryan fold. King Nala of Nishadha is a celebrated figure in
the Mahabharata and the Puranas. The location of the Nishadha
country is not known with certainty, though it may be assumed to
be contiguous to Vidarbha.

Under the Pratichyas or Westerners come the Nichyas and
Apachyas, as also Bahikas and Ambashthas. The Nlchya occurs as
the designation of certain tribes of the Punjab and Sind. Nothing is
known about the Apachyas. The Bahikas are spoken of as people of the
west of the Punjab in the Satapatha Brahmana (1. 7. 3. 8) which
refers to their calling Agni by the name of Bhava, as distinct from
the Prachyas who called it Sarva. The Ambashthas. corresponding
to the Abastanoi of Arrian, who were settled on the lower Asiknl in
Alexander’s time, are referred to in the Axtareya Brahmana (VIII.
21). Their king is stated to have been consecrated with the Aindra
Mahabhisheka. They were probably in the Punjab in Vedic times.

Finally we come to the Udichyas or Northerners, among whom
are the Uttarakurus, the Uttaramadras, Mujavants, Mahavrishas.
Gandharis, Bahllkas, Kesins, Kekayas, and Kambojas.

The Udlchya dialect was celebrated for its purity; hence Brah-
manas flocked to the north for purposes of study. The northern
dialect resembled that of the Kuru-Panchala, and the superiority
of the Brahma$as of the north is indicated by the victory of one of
their spokesmen over a Kuru-Panchala Brahmana in a debate. The
celebrity enjoyed by the north in academic matters is further cor¬
roborated by the fact that Taxila became a famous seat of learning,
and classical Sanskrit was first developed in Kashmir.3'

The Uttarakurus, along with the Uttaramadras, are located be¬
yond the Himalayas. Though regarded as mythical in the epic
and later literature, the Uttarakurus still appear as a historical
people in the Axtareya Brahmana (VIII. 23) which states that one
Janantapi Atyarati was anxious to conquer the country of the Ut¬
tarakurus, called the land of the gods. Zimmer places the Uttara¬
kurus in Kashmir to the north of Kurukshetra. and probably they
were an offshoot of the Kurus.

The Madra people were divided into two sections, the Uttara
(Northern) Madras and the Southern Madras or the Madras proper.
The Uttaramadras alone appear in early Vedic literature, and they
dwelt, as already stated, beyond the Himalayas, probably in the
land of Kashmir. The mention of Madragara Saungayani as an
ancient Vedic teacher shows the Madras as experts in Vedic learning.

262

ARYAN SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA

a fact which is confirmed by the Satapatha ' Brahmaya which states
that sages of Northern India repaired to the Madra country to study
the Vedas. The Bjihaddranyaka Upanishad refers to Kapya Patan-
chala as living among the Madras. The territory of the Southern
Madras roughly corresponds to Sialkot and its adjoining districts
in the. Central Punjab which were known as the Madrade&a as late
as the time of Guru Govind Singh.36 In Buddhist times the Madras
dwelt between the Chenab and Ravi.

The Mujavants have been mentioned in the Atharvaveda along
with the Mahavpishas, Gandharis, and Bahllkas as dwelling far
away, and to whom fever is to be relegated. The Yajurveda also
speaks of the Mujavants as a distant people. If the people took
their name > from Mujavant, a mountain in the Himalayas, yrhich
seems to be quite likely, they were a hill-tribe in the Himalayas.

The Mahavfishas appear to be northerners in the vicinity of
the other tribes along with whom they are mentioned, though
their exact location cannot be ascertained. The Chh&ndogya Upa¬
nishad places king Raikva-paiqa in the Mahavpsha country, and
the Jaiminlya Upanishad Brdhmava mentions Hptsva£aya as the
king of the Mahavpshas.

The Gandharis, referred to in the fjtigveda, are mentioned also
in the Atharvaveda (as already stated) and in the Srauta Sutras.
They appear apparently as a despised people in the Atharvaveda .
In later times, however, the angle of vision of the people of the
Madhyadesa changed, and Gandhara became the famous resort of
scholars for instruction in the Vedas and Vidyas. The Aitareya
Brdhmava (VII. 34) mentions Nagnajit, a king of Gandhara,
among Vedic teachers who propagated the Soma cult, which shows
that Gandhara was not excluded from Vedic Aryans. From the
various references to Gandhara in Indian literature it appears that
the boundaries of the country varied at different periods in its
history.

The Bahllkas, mentioned along with the three foregoing peoples,
were a contiguoCis northern tribe, their name also suggesting “the*
outsiders.” Roth and Weber were inclined to place this tribe in
Iran, but there is no need to assume any Iranian influence, for we
find that Bahllka is the name of a Kuru prince (Sat, Br., XU. 9.
3. 3).37

Kesin is the name of a tribe found in the Satapatha Brahmasna
(XI. 8.4.6) where their king is said to be studying how to avert a
bad omen at the sacrifices. They were probably a branch of the
Panchalas.38

The Satapatha Brahmana (X. 6. I. 2) and the Chh&ndogya
Upanishad (V. 11. 4) mention Asvapati, king of the Kekayas, as
a man of learning who instructed a number of Brahma$as. The
Kekayas in later days were settled in the north-west between the

THE VEDIC AGE

Sindhu and the Vitasta, and probably occupied the same territory
in the Vedic age. According to the Puranic tradition the Kekayas
were descended from Anu,39 which is confirmed by the fact that
the Anus of the Rigveda dwelt in the same territory in which we
find the Kekayas.

The earliest mention of Kamboja occurs in the Vamsa Brdh •
mono, of the S&maveda where a teacher Kamboja Aupamanyava
is referred to. The sage Upamanyu, mentioned in the fjtigveda
(I. 102. 9), is in all probability the father of this Kamboja teacher.
From the fact that Kamboja Aupamanyava is stated to be a pupil
of Madragara, Zimmer infers that the Kambojas and the Madras
were close neighbours in north-western India. The speech of the
Kambojas is referred to by Yaska as differing from other Aryans,
and Grierson sees in this reference the Iranian affinities of the
Kambojas;40 but the fact that Kamboja teachers were reputed for
their Vedic learning shows them to have been Vedic Aryans, so
that Kamboja was an Aryan settlement. Later on Kambojas
settled to the north-west of the Indus, and were the Kambujiyas
of the old Persian inscriptions.

There is some difference of opinion as to the location of the
Kambojas. Rhys Davids places them to the extreme north-west
of India, S. K. Aiyangar and P. N. Banerji in a country near
Sind, Raychaudhuri in the Rawalpindi and Peshawar districts,
Smith along the mountains of Tibet or Hindu Kush, and Eliot in
Tibet or its border.41 The latest attempt at locating the Kambo¬
jas is by Jayachandra who, after discussing the problems afresh,
identifies Kamboja with Badakhshan and the Pamirs, and Moti-
chandra has further supported the identification 42

There are various other minor tribes mentioned in Vedic
texts, but we know very little of them.43

Finally, we come to the semi-Aryan, non-Aryan and barbar¬
ous tribes. The Aitareya Brahmana mentioned the Andhras,
Pundras, gabaras, Pulindas and Mutibas as being Dasyus, i.e. out-
castes living on the borders of the Aryan settlements. These
people are said to be born of the fifty eldest sons of Visvamitra
through their father’s curse on their refusal to accept the adop¬
tion of gunahiepa. They were thus outside the Aryan fold. The
Andhras, gabaras and Pulindas are known from the Mahtibhtirata
to have been tribes of the Deccan.

The Andhras originally lived between the Krishna and the
Godavari.44 Andhras in modem times are the Telugu-speaking
people- of the Deccan.

The Piu^lras, whose name occurs also in the Sutras, have been
located in Bengal and Bihar by the Mahabhfirata, They were
situated in North Bengal and gave their name to their capital

264

ARYAN SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA

town Puj^lravardhana. The Purujras are probably the ancestors
of the Puros, an aboriginal caste in Bengal,46

The exact location of the Sabaras is not known. They can
be identified with the Suari of Pliny and the Sabarae of Ptolemy
and are probably ancestors of the Savaralu or Sauras of the Viza-
gapatam hills, the Savaris of the Gwalior territory and the sava¬
ges on the frontiers of Orissa 46

The name of Pulindas does not appear in the parallel list
given in the Saiikhayana &rauta-$utra . They are found along with
the Andhras at the time of Asoka. Their capital, according to the
Mahtibharata, probably lay to the south-east of the Bhilsa region.

The territory of the Mutibas has not. yet been located. Bay-
chaudhuri thinks it not altogether improbable that the Muchipas,
a variant of Mutibas, are the people who appear in the Mdrkandeya
P.xtrdna under the designation of Mushika, and locates the latter
on the banks of the river Musi on which Hyderabad now stands.47

The name Mlechchha, found in the Satapatha Br&hmana, is
used in the sense of a barbarian in speech who uses “he'lav o” for
“ he’rcyah This shows that these barbarians were Aryan speakers
who employed a Prakrit form of speech.

The Nishada mentioned in the later Samhitas and Brahmapas ap¬
pears to be, not the name of any particular tribe, but the generic
term for non-Aryan tribes who were not under Aryan control.
Nishadas have been distinguished from the other four Varpas. Weber
considered the Nishadas to be settled aborigines. The Smritis explain
the Nishadas as the off-spring of a Brahmana father and a &udra
mother. The epics represent the Nishadas as having their settlements
in the Vindhya and Satpura ranges, and it seems that during the
post-IJigvedic period also they inhabited mountainous tracts.

The Rigveda repeatedly refers to the attacks on the aborigines.
They are called Krishna-tvach (black skins) metaphorically. Kuya-
vach (evil speaking), a demon slain by Indra, probably personifies
the barbarian opponents. Mpidhravach (speaking insultingly) is also
similarly used for denoting barbarians in the Rigveda. If Balbutha,
called a Dasa, were the son of an aboriginal mother or an aboriginal
himself, his reference as giving gifts to the singer indicates the esta¬
blishment of friendly relations between the Aryans and Dasas.

The above review of the Aryan settlements would make it clear
that the period of the later Samhitas. Brahmapas, Upanishads, and
Sutras is characterized by a spirit of adventure and expansion,
and the advancing Aryans were spreading in every direction, coloniz¬
ing the east, south,, and north. The Gangetic Doab was completely
occupied by the Aryans and the adventurous Bharatas and Videghas
led expeditions along the Yamuna, the Sarasvatl, and the Sadanira.
Towards the east Kosala, Videha, Magadha, and Anga came under
Aryan occupation during this period. In the north and the north-

265

THE VEDIC AGE

west, we come across the Uttarakurus and the Uttaramadras,
Bahlikas, Mahavfishas, and Mujavants, showing the expansion
along Kashmir and the Himalayas. Towards the south the Vin-
dhya appears for the first time in the Kaushitaki Upanishad (II. 8),
and the Kuntis and Vitahavyas seem to have penetrated further
south, and the Narmada and Vidarbha also were within the Aryan
fold.

The disappearance of the Saras vati referred to in the Pancha-
vimsa Brdhmana (XXV. 10. 6) is an important geographical land¬
mark in this period. The main centre of the life of the period is
Kurukshetra in the country of the Kuru-Panchalas, bounded by the
Khauj^ava on the south, Turghna on the north, and Parlnah on the
west. It is noteworthy that the sphere of civilization is gradually
shifting eastward and its localization in the region to the east of
the land of five rivers is an accomplished fact. The Punjab and
the West not only recede in importance, but the tribes of the west
are looked upon with disapproval in the Satapatha and Aitareya
Brahmanas. There has been a change and regrouping of tribes of
the Rigvedic period, and many new tribes emerge during this period.
The Bharatas do not occupy the premier position, but are merged in
the Kurus who, with their allies the Panchalas, are the tribe par ex¬
cellence . With Va£&s and USinaras, the Kuru-Panchalas occupy the
Madhyade£a. The Uttamkurus and the Uttaramadras lay to the
north beyond the Himalayas, and Satvats to the south. To the east
Kosala, Videha, Magadha, and Anga rise into prominence. The
Andhras, Pundras, Mutibas, Pulindas, and Sabaras, as also the Nisha-
das, are the outcast tribes which were not fully Brahmanized.

The territory comprised within the sphere of Aryan influence
down to the period of the Upanishads may thus be roughly described
as the whole of India to the north *of the Narmada, and some regions
even to the south of that river.

GENERAL REFERENCES

MACDONELL, A. A., and KEITH, A.B.: Vedic Index. Two vols. London, 1912
OLDENBERG, H.: Buddha (Eng. Translation by W. Hoey). London, 1882.
ZIMMER, H.t Altindisches Leben Berlin. 1879.

1. Hillebrandi ( Ved . Myth., I, pp. 99 ff; XU, pp. 372 ff.) thinks that it is Arghandab
in a few places.

2. MacdoneM, History of Sanskrit Literature , p. 142; Keith, CHI, I, p. 80.

3. AL, p. 17; Chakladar, MR, Jan. 1930, p. 41; Raychaudhuri, hid. Antiquities,
p. 51.

4. Zur LUteratur und Geschlchte des Weda, pp. 138 ff.; AL, pp. 11, 12; MR, Jan.
1930, p. 41.

5. JRAS, 1917, pp. 93-6; Raychaudhuri, Ind. Antiquities, p. 51.

6. Nirukta, VI. 26; IX. 26.

7. Law, Rivers, p.* 10.

8. Ray, JBORS, March, 1928.

8a. For arguments against this view, cf. Ch. X, Appendix, p. 217.

9. Cf. Ved. Ind., I, p. 468; CHI, I, p. 79 n.h Hopkins, JAOS, 19; pp. 19-28; Keith,
CHI, I, p. 79; Winternitz, HIL, I, p. 63; Pischel and Geldner, Ved. Stud., II,
p, 218; m, p. 152.

266

ARYAN SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA

10. Brunnhofer, Arischc b'rzeit , 1910; Heitcl. Indo-Germ. Forchung 41, p. 188;
Hiislng. MAGW , xlvi; Hillebrandt, Vcd. Myth, I, pp. 98 ff.; Cnilde, Aryans,
p. 32; Winternitz, NIL, I. pp. 63-4.

11. CHI, I, pp. 78-9.

12. CHI, I, p. 79.

13. SBE, XXXII, pp. 61 ff.: In ,:*;che Alterthumskunde, I, p. 883; AL , pp. 22 ff.,
Ved . Ind., II, p. 432.

14. RV. IV. 42. 8, 9 and Sayana's Commentary.

15. The Ait. Br. takes the five to be gods, men, g&ndharvas, and apsarases, snakes,
and the fathers, whereas Yaska thinks that gandharvas, fathers, gods, asuras,
and rakshasas are meant. Aupamanyavas and Sayana hold that the four varnas
and the Nishadas made up the five. Roth and Geldner take the expression to
indicate the people of the whole earth.

16. JAOS, 15, pp. 258 ff.

17. Cf. Dutt, Aryanisation of India , p. 104.

18. Bancrji Sastri , JBORS , 12, p. 253.

18a. The Dasas and Dasyus have been fully discussed above in Ch. VIII, p. 159.

19. See Ch. XI, p.

20. Some Aspects of Ancient Indian Culture, p. 34.

21. Dey, GD. p. 104.

22. Ved. Ind., II, p. 422.

23. Raychaudhuri, PHAI, o. 20.

24. Ibid.

25. Ved. Ind., I, p. 469.

26. Raychaudhuri, PHAI, p. 59.

27. Ind. Ftud., I, pp. 212-3.

2$. El, 1921, p. 16; Majumdar, CAG, p. 669.

29. Ind. Stud., I, pp. 212-3.

30. Ved. Ind., II, p. 117.

31. JRAS, 1908, p. 852.

32. Raychaudhuri, PHAI, p. 76.

33. Cf. Law, Tribes, p. 100.

34. Raychaudhuri, PHAI, p. 74.

35. Franke, Pali und Sanskrit, pp. 88, 89.

36. Raychaudhuri, PHAI, p. 54.

37. Vahlika and Valhika appear as variants of Bahlika. The Mahdbhdrata and the
Puranas locate the tribe in the neighbourhood of Gandhara and Punjab.

38. Bhandarkar identifies the Kesis with the Kassis or Kassites (Some Aspects of
Ancient Indian Culture, p. 3).

39. Pargiter, AIHT , pp. 109, 264.

40. JRAS, 1911, pp. 801-2.

41. Cf. Law, Tribes, pp. 2-3.

42. JUPHAS , XVI, pp. 43-6.

43. Such e.g., are the Rusamas, gviknas, Sparsus, Karaskaras. gaphalas, etc.

44. ZDMG, 56, pp. 657 ff.

45. Bhandarkar, ABORI, XII, pp. 104, 105.

46. Raychaudhuri, PHAI, p. 79; Dutt, AryaTiieatiou of India, p. 69.

47. PHAI, p. 80.

267

BOOK FOUR

HISTORICAL TRADITIONS

CHAPTER XIV

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST
TIME TO THE ACCESSION OF PAR1KSH1T

1. SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Our sources for the traditional history from the earliest times to
the accession of Parikshit are mainly the Puranas, though the Mahd-
bh&rata and the Rfimayana occasionally give dynastic lists and deal
with traditional accounts. General observations on the Puranas and
the Epics will be found in the next volume. Here it is intended to
give only a brief introductory note dealing with the historical value of
the Puranas.

The Puranas. in their present recension, can hardly be placed
earlier than the Gupta period. Thus they received their final form
more than 2.000 years after the earliest events related by them. Be¬
sides this distance in time, the traditional account, contained in the
Puranas, is vitiated by exaggeration, mythological details, pronounced
religious bias, and the divergences in the texts of the different
Puranas. These have been subjected to various modifications, revi¬
sions. etc. at different periods and no “definite” text of the Puranas is
available. In spite of these obvious defects the Puranic account
may not be regarded as wholly unreliable. It is likely that the
royal genealogies and ancient ballads of kings and heroes were
preserved from very early times by the Sutas. It is expressly laid
down in the Vayu Purana (I. 31-2; that “the Suta's special duty,
as perceived by good men of old, was to preserve the genealogies
of gods, rishts (sages), and most glorious kings, and the traditions
of great men." These accounts probably formed the basis of the
original Purana, from which the genealogical texts of the existing
puranas were ultimately derived. Pargiter holds, on the basis of
Indian tradition, that this original Purana was composed more or
less about the same time when the Vedic texts received their final
form.' Although this view may be justly questioned, the existence
of a Purana text at a very early age is not improbable.

In any case .there is hardly any doubt that the royal genea¬
logies in the Puranas embody many genuine historical traditions
of great antiquity which have riot been otherwise preserved. It
has also been pointed out by Pargiter that the Puranic account is
corroborated in many respects by Vedic texts, which contain con¬
temporary historical data. A comparative study of the Puranas
and the Vedic texts shows that the former, though reduced to
writing at a comparatively late period, embody the earliest tradi¬
tional history, and much of their material is old and valuable.

27)

THE VEDIC AGE

When we find Puranic accounts corroborated by the Vedic evi¬
dence, it is but legitimate to take their testimony as valid even in
matters on which the Rigveda is silent.

That the kernel of both the Rdmdyana and the Mahdbhdrata
embodies historical facts is also now generally accepted.1* The
epic details, embellishments, exaggerations and flights of fancy,
evident in the Rdmdyana and the Mahdbhdrata , have been kept
distinct from the Puranic account of traditional history in this
chapter. Besides their central story, the Rdmdyana and the Mahd¬
bhdrata contain some dynastic lists and accounts. The Great Epic
itself implies that it was composed after the Puraajas. The genea¬
logical accounts in the Mahdbhdvata are peculiar in that they are
partly in prose and partly in verse, and do not appear to be ancient.
The Rdmdyana genealogy of the solar dynasty runs counter to the
Puranic genealogy; but as the latter has been corroborated by
other authorities, the Puranic genealogy is to be accepted in prefe¬
rence to that in the Rdmdyana.

2. CHRONOLOGICAL SCHEME OF TRADITIONAL HISTORY

ACCORDING TO THE PURANAS

The Bharata War is the central landmark in Indian traditional
history, and the fixing of the date of that event will give us a start¬
ing point in settling dates of events occurring before and after it.
We shall, therefore, first of all, try in brief to determine the date
of the Bharata War.

According to the Aihole inscription of Pulakesin II (seventh
century A.D.) the Bharata War took place in 3102 B.C., which is
the starting point of the Kaliyuga era according to the astronomical
tradition represented by Aryabhata lb. But Fleet has pointed out that
the reckoning was not founded in Vedic times; it was first started
about 3,500 years after the time for purposes of calculation, and was
not known to astronomers before Aryabhata.2 Another school
of Hindu astronomers and historians, represented by Vriddha-Garga.
Varahamihira and Kalhana, places the Bharata War 653 years after
the Kaliyuga era, i.e. in 2449 B.C.3 These two schools thus pre¬
sent conflicting views, and as they are based on a hypothetical
reckoning of a late date, we can hardly attach much importance to
them.

Astronomical references in the Mahdbhdrata itself about the
position of the Nakshatras and planets have been utilized for deter-
* mining the date of the war. But, the same data have yielded va¬
rious divergent results.4 As a matter of fact, the statements in the
Epic are conflicting and self-contradictory, so that in order to arrive
at some conclusion it is necessary to reject certain statements or
their implications as later interpolations or mere exaggerations. No
satisfactory and acceptable result can be arrived at from these data.

272

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST TIME

On the basis of the Puranic tradition about the number of kings
that flourished in different dynasties between king Adhisimakpishua
(great-grandson of Janamejaya) and the coronation of Mahapadma
Nanda, Pargiter places the Bharata War in c. 950 B.C. According
to him 26 reigns intervened between these kings, and allowing a
period of 18 years per reign, and taking the accession of Mahapadma
in 382 B . C., the period of Adhisimakyishj?a would be (26X18+
382=) 850 B.C. And adding a hundred years for the reigns of
intermediate kings between Yudhishthira and Adhisimakrish^a Par¬
giter arrives at (850+100=) 950 B.C. as the date of the Bharata
War.6

Pargiter’s date is contradicted by the statement in the Puraiias
and the Mahabharata that between the birth of Parlkshit and the
coronation of Mahapadma, there elapsed a period of 1,015 (or 1,050)
years.6 This brings the date of the Bharata War to (1015+382=)
1397 B.C. Though the number of kings mentioned in the Puranas
during this period does not appear to be correct, as it gives an ab¬
normally high average regnal period per generation, the figure men¬
tioning the period (viz. 1015 or 1050) seems to represent a fairly
reliable tradition, especially as the date it gives for the Bharata War
(c. 1400 B.C.) is corroborated by a consideration of the Varh-
iavali list of teachers. We may, therefore, take c. 1400 B.C. as the
provisional date for the Bharata War, and the event must have taken
place between this date and 1000 B.C. in round numbers.

Now working backwards from the earlier date, the age of Manu
Vaivasvata, who flourished, according to the genealogies prepared
on the basis of traditional accounts, 95 generations before the Bha¬
rata War, can be put as <95x18+1400=) 3110 B.C., taking one
generation to average 18 years (as we have to deal with very long
genealogies extending over 90 generations, we would be erring on
the side of caution if we assumed 18 years as the average reign).
This date, viz. 3110 B.C., curiously enough, approaches 3102 B.C.
which has been taken as the beginning of the hypothetical Kali age
for astronomical calculations. There is no doubt that the date
3102 B.C. signifies some important and epoch-making event in the
traditional history of India. If it denotes the period of the beginning
of the rule by Manu Vaivasvata, that means that it stands for the
date of the Great Flood recorded in the Satapatha Brahmana and
other accounts, at which Manu was the saviour of humanity. The
devastating Flood undoubtedly was the most important landmark in
the history of the ancient world, and common flood legends suggest
that the same event has been described in Indian, Hebrew, and
Babylonian accounts. The Flood in Mesopotamia is generally held
to have occurred about 3100 B.C.6a The Flood in India probably
also occurred at the same time, and the date 3102 B.C., supposed

273

THE VEDIC AGE

to be the beginning of the Kali era, may, therefore, commemorate
this event.

The year. 3102 B.C. thus represents the age of Manu, the first
traditional king in India. Yayati, who is fifth in descent from Manu
and figures also in the fligveda, thus flourished (18x5=) 90 years
after Manu or in (3100 — 90=) 3010 B.C. Mandhatpi, coming after
twenty generations, has to be placed in (3100—20x18=) 2740 B.C.
The period of Arjuna Kartavirya, Viivamitra, Jamadagni, Paraiu-
rama, and Hariichandra can be put between (3100—31X18)=) 2542
B.C., and (3100—33x18=) 2506 B.C. or roughly between 2550 and
2500 B.C. Sagara of Ayodhya and Dushyanta and Bharata of Hasti-
napura flourished between (3100-41x18=) 2362 B.C. and 3100 — 44
Xl8=) 2308 B.C. or roughly .between 2350 and 2300 B.C. Hama flou¬
rished 65 generations after Manu, i.e. in (3100—65X18=) 1930 B.C.
or roughly in 1950 B . C. and the famous Daiarajna war which occurred
about three or four generations after Kama, in c. 1900 B.C. These
dates will, of course, have to be lowered by 400 years if the Bharata
War is placed in c. 1000 B.C.

3. PRE-FLOOD TRADITIONS AND THE DAWN OF HISTORY

Like the dynastic lists in Sumer and Egypt, the Indian lists also
record pre-diluvian dynasties, though as may naturally be expected
in such accounts, there is a large mixture of myths and legends.
They begin with the mythical king, Manu Svayambhuva, who is
said to have been born of Brahma, and had from Satarupa, the
half-female form of his body, two sons, Priyavrata and Uttanapada,
and three daughters. These daughters are the themes of very ela¬
borate legends which connect them with the gods, sages, sacrifices,
etc. Svayambhuva Manu, also known as" Viraj, was the lord of the
first Manu cycle.

The Vdyu Pvrdna mentions Ananda as a Brahma (supreme
ruler) who was a predecessor of Manu Svayambhuva. This Ananda
is said to have established the Varnas (castes), formulated their
duties, and also established the institution of marriage; but these
fWl into abeyance in a short time and were revived by Manu Sva¬
yambhuva.7 Manu Svayambhuva’s capital lay on the bank of the
river Sarasvatl. He is said to have subdued all enemies and be¬
came the first king of the earth. Manu Svarochisha, the second
Manu, was the son of Svayambhuva^ daughter Akuti. Priyavrata,
the eldest son of Manu Svayambhuva, is said to be the first of the
Kshatriyas. Three of his sons renounced the world in child-hood in
order to perform penance, and became Manus in the next Manvan-
taras. These were Uttama, Tamasa, and Raivata, respectively the
third, fourth, and fifth Manus.

Uttanapada, the second son of Svayambhuva Manu, had three
sons, Dhruva,’ Kirtivat, and Uttama. The story of the celebrated

274

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST TIME

boy devotee Dhruva, who on account of the' insult offered him by
his step-mother, the favourite queen of Uttanapada, left the world
for penance and secured boons from the Lord Vishnu, is well-known
to every devout Hindu. Dhruva was succeeded by Pr achln agarbha .
Chakshusha in this line was the sixth Manu. His grandson Vena
was a Very wicked and tyrannous king. There was a general rebel¬
lion against him and he was deposed and killed. His son Pjrithu,
celebrated as the first consecrated king, from whom the earth re¬
ceived its name Prithvi, was enthroned his successor. . He levelled
the whole earth, clearing it of ups and downs, and encouraged culti¬
vation, cattle-breeding, commerce, and building of cities and villages.
The oath that he had to swear would compare favourably with the
oath any constitutional sovereign of England has to take.8 Fifth in
descent from Pj*ithu was Daksha, whose daughter’s grandson, Manu
Vaivasvata, saved humanity from the deluge which occurred at
this time.

4. THE FLOOD AND MANU VAIVASVATA

(c. 3100 B.C.)

The earliest and the shortest Indian account describing the
flood is found in the Satapatha Br&hmana, and there are later em¬
bellished versions in the Mahdbhdrata and the Purapas.® Accord¬
ing to the Satapatha Brahmaya , when Manu was washing his hands
in the* morning, a small fish came into his hands along with the water.
The fish sought protection from Manu, saying, “Hear me, I will save
thee.” The reason stated was that the small fish was liable to be
devoured by the larger, and it required protection till it grew up.
It asked to be kept in a jar, and later on, when it outgrew that, in
a pond, and finally in the sea. Manu acted accordingly. The fish
forewarned Manu of the forthcoming flood, and advised him to pre¬
pare a ship and enter into it when the flood came. The flood began
to rise at the appointed hour, and Manu entered the ship. The
fish then swam up to him; he tied the rope of the ship to its horn,
and thus passed swiftly to the yonder northern mountain. There,
Manu was directed to ascend the mountain after fastening the ship
to a tree and disembark after the water had subsided. Accordingly,
he gradually descended, and hence the slope of the northern moun¬
tain is called Manor avataraiuim or Manu’s descent. The waters
swept away all the three heavens, and Manu alone was saved.

Manu Vaivasvata is said to be the originator of the human race,
and all the dynasties mentioned in the Puranas spring from him.
He framed rules and laws of government, and collected a sixth of
the produce of the land as a tax to meet administrative expenses.

Manu is stated to have been the father of nine valiant sons, be¬
sides the eldest, who is represented to have had a dual personality
as the male Ila and female US. There is a great divergence in the

275

THE VEDIC AGE

names of the nine sons and their order in the different accounts.
According to the collated text, suggested by Pargiter,10 the name-
are: Ikshvaku, Nabhaga, Dhpshta, Saryati, Narishyanta, Pramsu,
Nabhagodishta (or Nabhanedishtha)$ Karusha, and Prishadhra. Of
these sons only four are important as being the originators of im¬
portant lines., Ikshvaku, the eldest, had his capital at Ayodhya,
and his son Vikukshi founded the Aikshvaka (or the Solar) line.
The location of the Nabhagas, descended from Nabhaga, is uncertain.
They probably reigned in the midlands of the Gangetic Doab, and
included Kathitara from whom came the Rathltaras who were Ksha-
triyan Brahmaajas. The Nabhaga dynasty played practicably no part
in traditional history, and probably disappeared under the early
Aila conquests. From Dhrishta came the Dharshtaka Kshatriyas
who probably ruled over Vahlka in the Punjab. Nothing further is
known about them. Their social position is interesting to the stu¬
dent of social history as they are sometimes cdlled Brahmaiias,
sometimes Kshatriyas and sometimes even Valyas, indicating the
fluidity of castes at this period in our history. Saryati was the founder
of the Saryatas who ruled in Anarta. The Saryatas were one of
the earliest Aryan tribes to come in contact with Gujarat, which re¬
ceived its ancient name from Anarta, the son of Saryati. There is
much confusion about the genealogy of Narishyanta, some accounts
stating the £akas to be his descendants. Nothing is known about
the descendants of Pramsu. Nabhagodishta settled in north Bihar,
and established the Vaisala dynasty which ruled at Vaisali identified
with Basarh11 (Muzaffarpur district). From Karusha came the
Karushas, the determined fighters, who occupied the Karusha coun¬
try— the region round the modern Rewah and eastwards to the river
Son. Prishadhra was excluded from any share of the earth because
he killed his guru’s (preceptor’s) cow.

From Ila, as the female, who married Budha, was born Puru-
ravas, the originator Of the Aila (or the Lunar) dynasty. Fr.om the
Ailas sprang various dynasties such as the Kanyakubjas, Yadavas
(Haihayas, Andhakas, Vrishois), Turvasus, Druhyus, Anavas, Pan-
chalas, Barhadrathas, Chedis, etc.

From Ila transformed into a Kimpurusha named Sudyumna,
sprang the Saudyumnas — his three sons Utkala, Gaya, and Vina-
tasva, who respectively ruled over the Utkala country, Gaya, and
the eastern regions including the northern Kurus. The Saudyumna
kingdoms were annexed by the Anavas and Kanyakubjas.

The early disappearance of the dynastic lists of the kingdoms
established by Karusha, Nabhaga, Dhrishta, Narishyanta, Pramsu,
and Prishadhra seems to be due to the victorious campaigns led by
Pururavas, Nahusha aud Yayati of the Lunar dynasty, who displac-
ced all these kingdoms and expanded the Paurava realm.

276

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST TIME

5. THE YAYATI PERIOD
(c. 3000-2750 B.C.)

1. The Lunar Dynasty

Pururavas Aila, Ila’s son through Budha or Soma, was the
progenitor of the celebrated Lunar dynasty. Though the seat of
the government of the Ailas and the scene of their later activities
have been placed at Pratishthana12 by the Purapas, the origin of the
Ailas, according tp these texts, seems to be connected with the
Himalayan region.

Pururavas is said to have ruled over the seven islands and per¬
formed a hundred Asvamedhas. The story of Pururavas and Urvaii
is too well known to be dealt with here.12* However, towards the
end of his reign, Pururavas is said have been intoxicated with power
and declared war on the Brahmanas, robbed them of their jewels,
and coveted the golden sacrificial floor of the Naimisha sages, who
were performing sacrifice. The sages in revolt killed him and in¬
stalled his eldest son Ayu on the throne. Pururavas was the con¬
temporary of Ikshvaku of the Solar dynasty. The Aila kingdom
developed quickly under Pururavas. Being checked in their ex¬
pansion to the. north by the powerful kingdom of Ayodhya and to
the south by the war-like Karushas, the Ailas extended their sway
eastward and north-westward into the Gangetic Doab and Malwa
and Eastern Rajputana. The expanded realm was divided among
Pururava’s two sons, Ayu and Amavasu.

Ayu continued the main line at Pratishthana, and Amavasu, to
whose share fell the northern territories in the mid-Gangetic Doab,
founded the Kanyakubja .dynasty. Ayu was friendly towards the
Ptishis and Brahmanas. His marriage with Prabha, the daughter of
a Danava king Svarbhanu, indicates that he held catholic views and
was a conciliator between Aryas and Danavas. Ayu had five sons,
only two of whom were important. The eldest, Nahusha, succeeded
Ayu in the main line at Pratishthana, while the second, Khshatra-
vriddha, established himself at KasI in the east.

Nahusha was a famous king, a great conqueror, the first man' to
establish a theatre on • the earth. The Mahabharata story of his
securing the kingdom of Indra, and of his subsequent fall therefrom
on account of his arrogance and ill-treatment of Agastya, runs
counter to many well-established synchronisms and is obviously a
later invention.'3 His son and successor Yayati is mentioned in the
Puranas and the Mahabharata as a Samrat (emperor) and a great
conqueror who extended his kingdom far and wide. He reduced all
Madhyadesa west of Ayodhya and Kanyakubja and north-west as
far as the Sarasvatl. He also brought under his sway countries towards
the south, south-east, and west of his territory. The Puranas and
the Mahabharata give a detailed account of Yayati’s marriage with

277

V.\ —18.

THE VEDIC AGE

Devayani, daughter of Usanas-Sukra, the great Bhargava fishi, and
Sarmisn^ha, daughter of king Vfishaparvan of the Asuras. Yayati’s
marriage with Devayani being the pratiloma marriage, reprehen¬
sible according to later customary law, some excuses have been in¬
vented' in justification of it.

Yayati had five sons. Devayani bore two, Yadu apd Turvasu,
and Sarmishtha three, Anu, Druhyu, and Puru. Yayati divided the
kingdom among his five sons, placing the youngest son Puru to con¬
tinue the main line, ruling over MadhyadeSa, the southern half of
the Ganges- Jumna Doab, with its capital at Pratishthana. The main
Lunar line hereafter came to be known as Puru Varhia or the Pau-
ravas after Puru. There is a great divergence in the Purapas re¬
garding the territories assigned by Yayati to his sons. Pargiter's
collated text14 suggests that Yadu, the eldest son, was given terri¬
tories towards the south-west embracing the country watered by
the rivers Charmapvatl (Chambal), Vetravatl (Betwa) and Sukti-
mati (Ken). Turvasu got the south-east territory (round Rewah).
To Druhyu was assigned the west, i.e. the country west of the Ya¬
muna and north of the Chambal. Anu received the north, i.e. the
northern portion of the Ganges- Jumna Doab.

By the time of Puru, the Ailas had thus established seven king¬
doms,, viz. Pratishthana, Yadava, Turvasu, Anava, Druhyu (i.e. the
kingdoms of the five sons of Yayati), and the kingdoms of Kanya-
kubja and Kasi. Puru, though the youngest, got the ancestral
kingdom of Pratishthana through obedience to his father. He was
succeeded by his son Janamejaya.

The Kanyakubjas and Ka£is, the subsections of the Lunax; dy¬
nasty, are not noted for any remarkable achievements or persona¬
lities during the period under review. Yadu, the eldest son of
Yayati, founded the Yadavas, the first Lunar dynasty to rise into
prominence. They first destroyed the Rakshasa power in Gujarat-
Kathiawar, who overthrew the Saryatas there.. Only Kroshfri and
Sahasrajit, among Yadu's sons, are important, for with them the
Yadavas branched off respectively into the Yadavas and Haihayas.

Yadava Chitraratha, about twelfth in descent from Yadu, was
the contemporary of the Paurava king Matinara. Gaurl, the dau¬
ghter of Matinara, was married to YuvanSiva II of the Solar dynasty
of Ayodhya, and their son Mandhatri, king of AyodhyS, married
BindumatT, the daughter of &a£abindu, son of Chitraratha. Both
Chitraratha and Saiabindu were great kings. Trthe Yadavas first
developed a great kingdom under Saiabindhu, which included the
territories of the Pauravas and Turvasu s on the east and the Druhyus
on the north.

2.. The Solar Dyncsty

Now we *urn to the Solar dynasty which comprises the three

278

TRADITIONAL. HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST TIME

lines of Ayodhya, Videha, and Vaiiala, and the Saryatas. Thesa
are the omy branches that are important out of the lines produced
by the nine sons of Manu.

Ikshvaku, the eldest of Mann’s sons, was the first king of Ayo¬
dhya, and Manu gave him Madhyade&a. According to the Purapas,
Ikshvaku had a hundred sons of whom Vikukshi the eldest, Nimi
and Dasg£a were most famous. Vikukshi, also named £a£ada, suc¬
ceeded Ikshvaku in the Ayodhya kingdom, and Nimi founded the
Videha line. The Dagtfaka forest is said to have been named after
Q? Dagtfaka, the third son of Ikshvaku.

Par ah jay a or Purahjaya, the son of Vikukshi, received the ap¬
pellation. Kakutstha on account of his being borne away by Indr a,
in the form of a bull, on his head ( kakud ) on the battlefield. &ra-
vasta, the son of Yuvanasva and sixth in descent from Kakutstha, is
said to have founded gravest!1 6 which later became the capital of
north Kosala. Of his grandson Kuvalaiva, a wild legend is current
explaining how he received the alternative name Dhundhumara.
Kuvalasva is said to have marched against an Asura, Rakshasa or
Daitya named Dhundhu near a shallow sand-filled sea in the Raj-
putana desert in order to rescue a sage named Ut tanka. He des¬
troyed the subterranean quarters of the Asura and put an end to his
fiery home. This legend probably suggests that Kuvalasva sub¬
jugated the Asuras and aboriginals to the west and in the southern
parts of Kajputana and spread Aryan culture in those lands. Dr. Law
sees a reference to a natural phenomenon in this legend. He con¬
jectures that the subterranean retreat of the Asura was really a
small volcanic pit near the western sea-coast causing occasional
earthquakes, and emitting smoke, ashes, and fire. Kuvalaiva, by
digging up the earth, first brought on volcanic eruptions destroying
the army in flames and smoke; but later on a subterranean water
channel rushed into the volcanic pit and extinguished it for ever.16
According to Pargiter this legend alludes to a shallow sand-filled
sea in Kajputana which formed the limit of Aryan advance towards
the south17. Kuvalasva’s eighth descendant was Yuvanaiva H, also
known as Saudyumni. A grotesque legend is told about the birth of
a son to the king himself out of his left rib as a result of his drinking
the holy sacrificial water intended for his queen. The child was
nursed by Indra with the nectar exhaled from his thumb, whence
it came to be known as Mandhfitpi.

The other branches of the Solar dynasty may be briefly referred
to. The Videhas sprang from Ikshvaku’s son Nimi, also known as
Videha. Nimi dwelt in a town named Jayanta and the capital was
Mithila, said to have been named after his son Mithi. The Videha
line of kings came to be known as Janakas on account of this Mithi
Janaka.

The Vais alas, though descended from Nabhanedishtha (or Dhjri-

279

THE VEDIC AGE

sh^a, son of NSbhaga and grandson of Manu), came to be called such
retrospectively from the name of king Visala who founded ViiaLa or
Vaiiali as his capital. Bhalandana and Vatsapri are named as the
first two kings. Bhalandana, who was a great sacrificer and a
valiant and universal conqueror, is said to have become a Vaiiya.

The sSaryatas originated from Saryati, the son of Manu, and
played but an unimportant role in traditional history. Saryati, who
is said to have offered his daughter Sukanya in marriage to Chya-
vana of the Bh^igu family, was succeeded by his son Anarta. The
Saryata dynasty was short-lived and was destroyed by the Piu>ya-
jana Rukshasas. The history of the Saudyumnas has been referred
to above (p. 278).

3. Brahmana families

Brahmapa families also play important roles in traditional his¬
tory, and we may take note of contemporary Brahmana families in
the different periods of traditional history. The Brahmana families
claim descent from eight mythical jishis (sages), called mind-bom
sons of Brahma. There are also other fabulous accounts which seek
to explain their names on the basis of etymology inventing fanciful
stories. Out of the eight Brahmapa families, i.e. Bhjrigu, Ahgiras,
Marichi, Atri, Vasishtha, Pulastya, Pulaha, and Kratu, the last three
did not* produce true Brahmana stocks. Pulastya was the proge¬
nitor of the Rakshasas, Vanaras, Kinnaras and Yakshas. From
Pulaha came Kimpurushas, Pisaqhas, goblins, lions, tigers and other
animals. Kratu, according to most accounts, had no wife or child,
and remained celibate, but some accounts make the Valakhilyas
his offspring. The remaining five, however, were not assigned equal
antiquity. The Bhargavas, Vasishthas, and probably Angirasas,
appear to have been the earliest Brahmana families. The Atris and
Kaiyapas (from Marichi) originated later.

The Bhfigus or Bhargavas claim descent from the primeval
rishi Bhyigu. Chyavana and Sukra are the earliest Bhrigus men¬
tioned in the Purapas. Sukra was connected with the Daityas,
Danavas, and Asuras as their guru , and was the rival of Bpihaspati,
the guru of the Devas. Sukra’s daughter DevayanI married Yayati,
the Puru king, and bore him Yadu and Turvasu.

The Vasishthas in Puranic accounts claim to have a mysterious
origin, being descended from Mitravarupa in the present Manvantara.
Some accounts make the first Vasishtha one of the ten mind-born
sons of Brahma in the Svayambhuva Manvantara.

The Vasishthas have been connected as hereditary priests with
the kings of Ayodhya from the earliest times. The Purapas men¬
tion a VasishUia in connection with Ikshvaku and his sons Vikukshi-
SaSada and Nimi.

Though the Atri clan was an ancient one vying in antiquity with

280

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST TIME

the earliest Brahmana families, the earliest individual member of
the Atri family to be referred to in traditional history is Prabhakara,
who is said to have married the ten daughters of Bhadrasva, (or Baud*
raSva) an early Paurava king. From Prabhakara’s ten sons descended
the best Atreya Gotras .

Marichi’s son Kasyapa, the progenitor of the Kasyapas, is made
a Prajapati or identified with Kasyapa, the creator of all beings and
the father of the gods and Asuras.

Besides these ancient families, there were other Brahmana
stocks such as Visvamitras and Jamadagnis, which did not claim
primeval antiquity, and which emerged in traditional history at a
later period.

6. THE MANDHATRI PERIOD (c. 2750-2550 B.C.)

I. The Solar Dynasty

We now turn to the next period, the central figure in which
is Mandhatri, sen of Yuvanasva, of the Ikshvaku family. The Yadava
empire under £aiabindu (p. 280) was rivalled by the Ayodhya king¬
dom under Mandhatri (p. 281), a famous king, a chakravartin and a
samrat. According to the Puranic accounts, Mandhatri Yauvana£va,
an Aikshvaka, was a great chakravartin. He was the son of Yuva¬
nasva, and Gauri, the daughter of Matinara of the Pauravas. He
was considered the fifth avatar a (incarnation) of Vishnu. He was a
great sacrificer and is said to have performed a hundred Asvamedhas
and Rajasuyas. His gifts and charities are eulogized and songs
praising him have been handed down from very ancient times. He
is mentioned as a king of very wide sway, magnanimous and giver
of cows. Mandhatri married Bindumatl, daughter of &a£abindu of
the Yadavas. He had three sons, Purukutsa, Ambarlsha, and Muchu-
kunda. His sister (daughter or granddaughter) Kaveri married
Jahnu of the Kanyakubjas.

The account of his birth from his father’s side and being called
Mandhatri because of what Indra said at the prince’s birth (main
dhata , i.e. the child will suck me), invented evidently to explain his
name, is a late fabrication fashioned with great ingenuity. Man¬
dhatri is said to have obtained half the throne of Indra and conquered
the whole earth in one day. He extended his sway over the neigh¬
bouring Paurava and Kanyakubja realms, and also conquered the
Druhyus and the Anavas in the north-west. He probably spared
the Yadavas who were related to him, but conquered the Haihayas
in the Deccan. Mandhatri was succeeded by his eldest son Puru¬
kutsa.

Purukutsa continued the conquest of his father. The Nagas
induced Purukutsa to destroy the Mauneya Gandharvas who had
despoiled them. They gave him their princess Narmada, and he

281

THE VEDIC AGE

rescued them from the Gandharvas. This shows the extension of
the Aryan culture towards the river Narmada and the land of the
Nagas who were probably aborigines or primitive peoples.

Muchukunda, the third son of Mandhatjri, was a famous king.
The fable connecting him with Kalayavana and Krishna is an ana¬
chronism.18 He built and fortified a town on the Narmada between
Paripitra and Riksha' mountains. Muchukunda’s supremacy, how¬
ever, did not last long, and the Haihaya king Mahishmant conquered
that town and named it Mahishmatl. The Ayodhya kingdom de¬
clined after Purukutsa, and some of the kingdoms of the Lunar
dynasty again rose into prominence.

2. The Lunar Dynasty

The Paurava realm appears to have lain prostrate at the time
of Mandhatfi, for he is said to have sacrificed on the Yamuna, and
crossing the Paurava kingdom he conquered the Druhyu king, who
was pushed from Kajputana to the borders of the Punjab by the
Yadava king &a£abindu. It was probably. Sasabindu, the Yadava
king, who conquered the Paurava realm, and the Haihaya king Bha-
dra^reoya traversed it to reach Benares. There arose no king of
eminence among the Pauravas for generations after Yayati and
Pfiru, so that the kingdom dwindled down, and the neighbouring
kings absorbed parts of it till the Paurava kings were reduced to
mere kings in name, and probably lived out in exile, as would
appear from the account of Dushyanta who was with Turvasu
Marutta, son of Karandhama.

The Kanyakubja kingdom appears to have been overrun by
king Mandhatri in course of his conquest of the Druhyus. The suze¬
rainty of Ayodhyft over Kfinyakubja was, however, short-lived, and
Jahnu brought Kanyakifbja into local prominence. Jahnu married
the grand-daughter of Yauvana£va (i.e. Mandhatri).

The Halhayas (of the Yadava branch of the Lunar dynasty)
continued to prosper in their region south of M&lwa, and as noted
above, Mahishmant (one of their kings) founded the town Mahish¬
matl. His successor, king Bhadra£renya, was an aggressive monarch
who conquered the Paurava realm. He also extended his sway
eastwards into the Ka£i territories, conquered the kingdom, occupied
Benares and reigned there. There Benares king Haryaiva tried to
recover it, but was killed by the Haihayas and his son Sudeva also
was overpowered. Later, Benares is said to have come under the
possession of Ksheraaka Rakshasa from whom it was subsequently
recovered by Durdama of the Haihayas. The occupation by Hak-
shasas indicates the devastation of the country by war resulting in
its occupation by the rude tribes from the forest.

The Anavas also grew in power. King Mahamanas, seventh in
descent from Anu, extended the sway of the Anavas towards the

282

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST TIME

east and the Punjab; and the bifurcation of the Ahavas under his
two sons U&lnara and Titikshu shows the extent of his conquests.

Usinara established a kingdom on the eastern border of the
Punjab, which was divided among his five sons. Sibi succeeded to
the throne at Multan; from Njriga, who established a separate king¬
dom in the present Montgomery district and the northern parts of
Bikaner, sprang the Yaudheyas; Nava was the originator of the
kings of Navar&shtra; rulers of the city of Kjrimila came from Kj*imi;
and Suvrata started the Ambash^has, probably in the eastern Pun*
jab. Sibi Auilnara, however, was the most prominent among
USinara ’s sons, and the Sibis sprang from him. Sibi conquered
practically the . whole of the Punjab except the north-west corner,
and established through his sons four kingdoms of (i) the Vrisha-
darbhas, also known as 6ibis, in the home territories of Multan,
(ii) the Sauviras in Sind, (iii) the Kekayas in the modern districts
of Gujarat and Shahpur between the Jhelum and the Chenab, and
(iv) the Madrakas, with their capital at Sakala (modem Sialkot),
in the Lahore division of the Punjab and the Jammu province in
Kashmir.

Titikshu moved eastward and crossing Videha and Vaiiali came
down to the east and founded a new kingdom in east Bihar where
ruled the Saudyumnas. This new kingdom was known as the
“Kingdom in the East,” which later developed into the five kingdoms
of Anga, Vanga, Kalinga, Pundra, and Suhma, divided among Bali’s
five sons.

Lastly we come to the Druhyus. As the result of the success^
ful campaigns of Sa£abindu, YuvanaSva, Mandhatri, and Sibi, the
Druhyus were pushed back from Raj pu tana and were cornered into
the north-western portion of the Punjab. Miandhatri killed their
king Angara, and the Druhyu settlements in the Punjab came to
be known as Gancjhara after the name of one of Angara’s successors.
After a time, being over-populated, the Druhyus crossed the borders
of India and founded. many principalities in the Mlechchha territories
in the north, and probably carried the Aryan culture beyond the fron¬
tiers of India.

7. THE PAEA6URAMA PERIOD (c. 2550-2350 B.C.)

The whole of the age which has been designated the ParaSu-
rama period comprising about twelve generations (till the rise of
king Sagara of Ayodhya of the Solar dynasty) was dominated by
the Haihayas and the Bhpigus in turn. There is practically nothing
worth recording in the Paurava line during this period which shows
a great break till the time of Dushyanta who came after Sagara.

1. The Bhrigus

The Bhrigu-vam£a or the Bhargavas, the family to which Para-

283

THE VEDIC AGE

surama belonged, dwelt in Anarta (Gujarat). After the Saryatas
perished and Western India was dominated by the Haihayas, the
Bhrigus became associated with the Haihayas. King Kritavirya of
the Haihayas is said to have bestowed great wealth on the Bharga-
vas who were his priests. On refusal of the Bhargavas to return it,
Kritavlrya’s descendants ill-treated them and used violence against
them so that they fled into Kanyakubja in the MadhyadeSa for
safety. Chief among the Bhrigus was Richika, son of tirva, a
famous Rishi skilled in archery, who cherished great wrath towards
the Haihayas. In order to wreak vengeance on the wicked Haihayas,
the Bhargavas engaged themselves in collecting arms and sought
marital alliances with the Kshatriya ruling families. Richika
sought in marriage Satyavati, the daughter of king Gadhi of Kanya¬
kubja. The king did not approve of the match and evaded it by
demanding an almost impossible price in the form of a thousand
black-eared horses. Richika, however, fulfilled the condition and
married Satyavati. Jamadagni, the celebrated Bhrigu sage, was
born of this marriage. He was thus Visvamitra’s sister's son.

Jamadagni became skilled in archery and arms and made an
alliance v/ith the ruling family of Ayodhya by marrying Renuka,
daughter of Renu, a. junior king in the line. Jamadagni was not a
militant Rishi but followed peaceful avocations.

When the Haihaya king Kartavlrya came to his hermitage with
his army, Jamadagni treated him with right royal hospitality
through the help of his celebrated divine Kamadhenu (wish-giving
cow)". On Jamadagni’s refusal to part with the cow, Kartavlrya
forcibly seized her; but the Yavanas, produced from her body, de¬
feated Kartavlrya. Subsequently, Kartavlrya destroyed the hermi¬
tage and carried away the sacred cow.

Four or five sons were born to Jamadagni, of whom Rama (or
Parasurama), though the youngest, was the greatest among the
Bhrigus. The Puranas represent Parasurama as an incarnation of
Vishnu. He is said to have been born during the period of interval
beween the Tret& and Dvtipara Yugas. The Mahdbhdrata. how¬
ever, refers to him as an incarnation only in two late passages.19
Parasurama is represented as a very great warrior, skilled in all
weapons, especially in archery. The Parasu (battle axe) was his
special weapon, on account of which he came to be called ParaSu-
rama in distinction from Rama D^sarathi. The slaughter of the
Kshatriyas twenty-one times, and ridding the earth of the Kshatri-
yas are said to be the principal feats of Parasurama.

The Bhrigu-Haihaya conflict started after Kartavlrya (Arjuna
or Sahasrarjuna) raided Jamadagni’s hermitage in the absence of
Rama, molested the old sage and forcibly took away the sacred cow
(as already stated). In revenge, Rama lopped off Arj una’s arms
and slaughtered him like an ordinary animal. Thereupon, on the

284

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST TIME

advice of Jamadagni, Rama set out on a pilgrimage for the expiation
of the sin of killing Arjuna. During the absence of Parasurama,
Arjuna’s sons slew Jamadagni when he was in deep meditation.
This enraged Rama to the extreme, and he declared a vendetta not
only against the Haihayas, but against the Kshatriyas in general, and
is said to have rid the earth of the Kshatriyas twenty-one times. At
regular intervals after the birth of fresh Kshatriyas, Rama restarted
his campaign and slew all of them. Rama filled a number of lakes
at Kurukshetra with the blood of the Kshatriyas. As the result of
these, raids, some Kshatriyas fled to the mountains or. hid themselves
among the women-folk. Only Rikshavan of the Pauravas, Sarva-
karma of Ayodhya, Brihadratha of Magadha, Chitraratha of Anga,
and Vatsa of Kasi are said to have escaped from Rama's slaughter.20
All this, indeed, is an exaggeration. It appears that on the strength
of the matrimonial alliances of the Bhargavas with the ruling fami¬
lies of Kanyakubja and Ayodhya, and also of the growing discon¬
tent due to the devastating raids and consequent unpopularity of
the Haihayas, Rama organized a confederacy of various kingdoms
including Vaisall, Videha, Kasi, Kanyakubja and Ayodhya which
fought the Haihayas on various battlefields. These are probably
referred to by the annihilation of the Kshatriyas twenty-one times.
As the result of his all-round attack from all fronts, the Haihayas,
for a time at least, must have suffered a serious setback.

Rama is said to have retired to the forest for penance in order
to atone for his sins after each slaughter. Finally, to rid himself
of the sin, he donated the whole earth to Kasyapa. To free the
earth from any possible future attacks from Rama, Kasyapa banish¬
ed him from the earth which now belonged to him. Rama then
wrested from the sea the west coast and colonized it. The whole
of the west coast from Bhrigukachchha (Broach) down to Cape
Comorin retains association with Parasurama.

According to the genealogical tables, Parasurama is several
generations prior to the period of Rama (son of Dasaratha) and the
Pandavas; yet he has been brought into connection with these heroes
in the Ramaymia and the Mahabhdrata. Thus he is said to have
appeared before Rama after his marriage with Sita, advised Bala-
rama and Krishna with regard to a suitable site for safety against
the raids of Jarasandha, to have been the preceptor of Bhishma,
Drona, and Karna, to have fought against Bhishma, to have advised
Duryodhana not to fight the Panovas, etc. These are clearly in
stances of anachronism as the result of the anxiety of the writers
of the Epics to establish contact of their heroes with the great Bhar-
gava. In order to get over these obvious anachronisms a theory
was promulgated, at a later date, that Parasurama was chiraii*
jiva (immortal).

285

THE VEDIC AGE

2. The Haihayas

After the death of Purukutsa, the kingdom of Ayodhya lost its
paramountcy in Upper India and the Haihaya branch of the Yadavas
gradually began to extend its sway from the west, penetrating to
the east and north, as noted above (pp. 281 ff:). Reference has al¬
ready been made to Kptavlrya and his son Arjuna, a great monarch,
samrtit, and chakravcirtin who, during his long reign, extended the
Haihaya sway far and wide and raised the Haihaya power to great
eminence. Arjuna is known by his patronymic Kartavlrya and also
as Sahasrarjuna (thousand-armed). The thousand arms ascribed to
Arjuna were possibly his fleet of a thousand ships. Arjuna propi¬
tiated Dattatreya, a sage regarded as an incarnation of Narayajpa,
and started his career of conquest which at once carried the Haihaya
empire to great prominence and supremacy. He fought the Ksjrko-
taka Nagas who occupied Anupa (territories near the mouth of the
Narmada), captured Mahishmati and made it his capital. Kartavlrya
also defected Havana who invaded his territories, brought him captive
and subsequently released him. He appears to have led his victorious
campaigns from the mouth of the Narmada to as far north as the
Himalayas, since in one of his raids he is said to have come across
the hermitage of Apava Vasishtha in the Himalayas and burnt it, as
a consequence of which he was cursed. Arjuna is said to have
conquered the whole earth, and performed a number of sacrifices.

Arj una’s conflict with Jamadagni and Rama, to which we have
already referred, occurred towards, the end of his long and prosper¬
ous reign.

Barring his relations with Apava Vasishtha and Jamadagni,
which show Arjuna in an unfavourable light as inimical to the Brah-
manas, he is always the subject of high praise and encomium in epic
works. He is described as an ideal monarch unparalleled in penance,
charities, learning, and virtues, who conquered the whole world
and ruled it with perfect justice. It is only his connection with
the Bhrigus that has been responsible for painting the ideal monarch
in the blackest colours. His victories show that he carried the
banner of Aryan conquest far and wide, and that Mahishmati on
the Narmada was an outpost of the Aryan colonies of those days.

Mr. Karandikar, after a thorough study of the Puranas, has
suggested quite a different interpretation of the Sahasrarjuna
episode.21 According to him, the Bhrigus were great navigators
and expert mariners who controlled the maritime trade between
India and the western world, and occupied the coastal line on the
Arabian Sea. They amassed a great fortune through their trade
with foreign countries. The reason of the Bhrigu-Haihaya conflict
was that Arjuna did not wish that the Bhrigus, who were agents of
the foreigners, should thrive at the cost of the people. He wanted
to keep the trade and commerce of the Indian people under the

286

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST TIME

control of ah Aryan state, for the Bhjrigus were more self-seekers
than patriots. Arjuna sought the help of the Atris, who were
equally expert ship-builders, and who built for him a fleet of a
thousand ships or a ship with a thousand oars (making Arjuna
Saharsabahu, i.e. thousand-armed). Karkojaka Naga, Havana and
others who were defeated by Arjuna 'were seeking some opportunity
to wreak vengeance on him. Arj una’s effort at getting control of
the sea-trade was an eyesore to the Bhyigus, and further fuel was
added by Arj una’s demanding back the wealth he had bestowed on
the Bhrigus. Parasurama led the opposition with the aid of
the parties defeated by Arjuna, killed him, and destroyed the
Haihaya power. The . annihilation of the Kshatriyas twenty-one
times is interpreted as the destruction of the population in the
Narmada region a number of times in order to wipe out
the memory of the popular king Arjuna. On the devastated
Haihaya realm Parasurama founded new cities, and colonized some
tracts in the west coast, founding Surparaka which became the
centre of trade. The result of Parasurama’s activities was to divert
the trade from the hands of the Aryans in the north to the Dravi-
dians in the south.

Whatever we might think of the above interpretation there is
no doubt that as the result of the Bhrigu-Haihaya conflict the Hai-
hayas received a great setback. But they soon recovered from their
reverses, and again extended their power in Northern India. Arjuna
had many sons of whom the chief was Jayadhvaja who reigned in
Avanti. Siirasena, another son, appears to have been associated with
Mathura, while Sura, the third son, probably was connected with
Surashtra. Jayadhvaja’s son Talajangha had many sons, of whom
the chief was Vitihotra. The Puranas state that the Haihayas form¬
ed five groups, viz. Vitihotras, Saryatas, Bhojas, Avantis, and Kun-
dikeras all of whom were collectively called Talajanghas.22 Of
these, Vitihotra and Tuntfikera or Kimdikera were in the Vindhyan
range; the Saryatas were in Western India, Bhojas near the Aravalli
hills, and Avantis in Malwa. They carried their raids not only
against the kingdoms of the Madhyade£a but even against Kanya-
kubja, Kosala, and Kaii. The Kanyakubja kingdom appears to have
succumbed to these raids. The Haihayas killed Haryasva of Ka£i in
a battle in the Ganges- Jumna Doab, but met with reverses later on,
and the Vitihotra prince on the Benares throne had to seek refuge
with a Bhargava sage. After this, the Haihaya dynasty practically
came to an end, and the king became a Brahmana.

The kingdom of Ayodhya, considerably weakened after Man-
dhatfi and Purukutsa, was attacked by the Haihayas with the co¬
operation of the hardy and semi-barbarous tribes (called &akas,
Yavanas, Kambojas, Paradas, and Pahlavas) from the north-west.
This co-operation indicates that the intervening kingdoms between

287

THE VEDIC AGE

Ayodhya and the frontier countries were overthrown by the Haiha-
yas. Bahu (or Asita according to the Ramayana), king of Ayodhya,
had to leave the throne and seek refuge in the forest where
he died near the hermitage of Aurva Bhargava. His queen gave
birth to a son in the forest who was named Cr^ara and was educat-
ed by Aurva Bhargava. As we shall presently relate, Sagara was
the greatest king of the Solar dynasty during this period and re¬
covered his lost kingdom with the help of the Bhargavas. Vai£ali
and Vidiia also were attacked by the Haihayas and Vidiia probably
was under Haihaya occupation. Tradition, however, suggests that
the Haihaya conquests towards the east were checked by the Vaiiala
kings.

The Haihayas thus were engaged in making continual raids
and over-throwing kingdoms; they, however, did not found any
kingdoms in the countries overrun by them which lay devastated
and fell an easy prey to the attacks by wild tribes.

3. Other Lunar Dynasties

The Yadavas: Contemporaneous with king Sagara of Ayodhya
was Vidarbha of the Yadavas, who sought peace with the Ayodhya
king, advancing south-westward, by offering his daughter Kegin! in
marriage to the latter. King Vidarbha then retired towards the
Deccan, into the country named after him, leaving the whole of
northern India to acknowledge the suzerainty of Sagara. After
Sagara’s death, the Yadavas of Vidarbha extended their authority
northward over the Haihaya country. The three sons of Vidarbha
founded three sub-lines. Kratha or Bhlma, the eldest, continued
the main line. The second son Kaigika became king of Chedi and
founded the Chedi line.23 The location of the territories of the
youngest son Lomapada has not been given.

The Anavas: The Anava kingdom in the east founded by
Titikshu appears to have been considerably expanded by the time
of king Bali of the Anavas, a contemporary of Sagara, and was sub¬
sequently divided among his five sons, Anga, Vanga, Kalinga, Piu>-
$ra, and Suhma, who were begotten by the sage Dirghatamas Mama-
teya on queen Sudeshna at Bali's request. The capital of Ahga was
Malini, four miles west of Bhagalpur. Separated from Magadha by
the river Champa, Anga comprised the modern districts of Bhagalpur
and Monghyr. Vanga was further east corresponding to the modern
Dacca and Chittagong Divisions. Pin^lra was Northern Bengal.
Suhma comprised the Burdwan Division, and Kalinga, the sea-coast
of Orissa including the Northern Circars.

Kdnyakuhja: A few generations after Jahnu, came Kusika the
originator of the Kusikas. Kusika ’s son from PaurukutsI, Puru-
kutsa’s descendant in about the sixth degree, was Gadhi. Gadhi is

288

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST TIME

described as an incarnation of Indra, which probably means that he
had an alternative title such as Indra or one of his synonyms.
Gadhi’s daughter Satyavati, as already stated, was given in marriage
to the Bhyigu sage Ijtichika Aurva. Through ^ichika ’s favour, Gadhi
had a son Visvaratha or Visvamitra who is a prominent figure in
ancient legends. Convinced of the superiority of the spiritual power
of Brahmanism by being worsted in his attempts to deprive Vasish¬
tha of his sacred cow, he resolved on attaining Brahmanism, and
set out for austerities after renouncing his kingdom. Eventually,
he succeeded in winning recognition as a Brahmana or Brahmarshi
even from Vasishtha. Then, Visvamitra is said to have championed
the cause of Satyavrata Trisanku in opposition to Vasishtha, and
raised Trisanku to divine celebrity. Further, Visvamitra is said to
have harassed Hariichandra, Trisanku’s son, in order to test Vasish-
tha’s praise of him as unrivalled in virtues. Visvamitra, again, is
said to have slain Sakti and other Vasishthas through Saudasas, i.e.
descendants of Sudas. Then Visvamitra is spoken of as having
adopted Sunahsepa as a son whom he saved from being offered as a
substitute victim for Harischandra’s son Bohita. Visvamitra further
appears in connection with Rama of Ayodhya, and also as father of
Sakuntala who was married to Paurava Dushyanta and gave birth
to the celebrated emperor Bharata. The Puranas further show that
the rivalry between Visvamitra and Vasishtha is not only endless but
hereditary.

It appears that the Puranas combine the various accounts of
different Visvamitras and roll them into one. For instance, Visva¬
mitra, the father of Sakuntala, Visvamitra, the contemporary of
Rama, and Visvamitra, the contemporary of Harischandra, Jamadagni,
Sunahsepa and of Sudas, Kavasa Ailusha and the Dasarajna were
quite distinct personalities- The heroes of different episodes, relat¬
ing to widely distant ages, have been unified into a single persona¬
lity in the Puranas, and this has caused a good deal of chronological
confusion and genealogical chaos.

Visvamitra, the Kanyakubja king, was related to Jamadagni
and Parasurama. It is therefore likely that the Kanyakubja king¬
dom helped the confederacy raised by Parasurama against the Hai-
hayas. Visvamitra ruled for some time, and as the result of his
discomfiture at the hands of Vasishtha, relinquished his kingdom
and left for austerities in a forest leaving his family in a hermitage
near Ayodhya. Visvamitra saved Sunahsepa, son of Ajlgarta, who
was being sacrificed as a substitute for Rohita. son of Hariichandra.
and adopted him, after renaming him Devarata. Visvamitra ’s sons
did not accept Devarata’s headship, and so Visvamitra cursed them
to become Mlechchhas such as Andhras, Puntfras, and gabaras.
Ashtaka probably succeeded Visvamitra on the Kanyakubja throne.

Kati: Pratardana (the son of Divodasa) or his son Vatsa ex*

THE VEDIC AGE

tended his sway further, and annexed the country around Kausambi
which came to be named the Vatsa country. Vatsa’s son Alarka re¬
gained the capital Varanasi from the Bakshasas who had occupied
the city since the days of Bhadrairepya and re-established it as the
Kaii capital. Alarka had a long and prosperous reign.

4. The Solar Dynasty

Ayodhyd: After the rise of the realm to great heights in the
reigns of Mandhatfi, Purukutsa, and Trasadasyu, the empire appears
to have remained, if at all, merely in name, and we do not meet
with any important king till we come to Trayyarupa, Satyavrata-
Trisahku, and Hariichandra. Satyavrata-Txisahku is the subject
of numerous fantastic tales in the Purapas24 Being expelled by
his father at the instance of his family priest on account of some
excesses, the prince is said to have led the life of a Chan^ala wander¬
ing in the woods on the banks of the Ganges for twelve years.
Trayyanqia died in the4 meanwhile, but Trisanku was not recalled.
There was a great famine lasting ior nine years during the time
of Triianku’s exile. While in the forest, Trisanku supported the
family of Visvamitra which was starving, when Visvamitra, after
renouncing the kingdom, had gone to the forest to perform penance.
Visvamitra learnt of the generosity of the prince after his return,
and in gratitude, as also in order to defeat his antagonist Vasishtha,
got TriSahku installed on the Ayodhya throne. Trisanku was succeed¬
ed by Hariichandra, the embodiment of truth. He was a samraf and
is said to have performed the Hajasuya. The story of Hariichan-
dra, whose truthfulness was put to very severe tests by Visvamitra,
is well known. Harischandra’s son Rohita is said to have built
Rohitapura.26 Rohita 's younger son Champa built Champapuri
near Bhagalpur in east Bihar. Sixth in descent from Harilchandra
was Bahu. Sagara, so named because he was born with the poison
which his step-mother administered to his mother, was bom posthu¬
mously to Bahu in the hermitage of the sage Aurva. Sagara was
taught archery by the sage Aurva, who specially instructed him in
the celebrated Agneyastra. The foreign tribes, who came in the
train of the Haihayas (ante, p, 289 if.) and settled down in Ayodhya,
were called Kshatriyas. They respected Brahmanas, observed Brah-
manic rites and rituals, and retained Vasishtha as their priest. They
remained in possession of Ayodhya for over twenty years till Sagara
attained maturity.

Sagara had to pass through MadhyadeSa and Central India to
lead an expedition against the Haihayas. After destroying them
Sagara led his conquering hordes against their hardy outlandish
allies, the Sakas, Yavanas, Kambojas, etc. He would have com¬
pletely crushed them but for the intercession of his priest Vasishtha
with whom they sought refuge. Sagara then let them off after im-

290

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST TIME

posing on them certain signs of symbolical .defeat and disgrace; the
Sakas were made to shave only half their heads, Kambojas to have
their heads completely shaved, Paradas were forbidden to shave or
trim the hair of their heads, and Pahlavas to shave their beards, thus
rendering them unlit for Vedic ceremonials.26 The story seeks to
interpret, in the manner of the Purapas, the peculiar customs of
these peoples who were becoming Kshatriyas under the priestly gui¬
dance of the Vasishfhas. Sagara’s name is connected with the ocean
(ydgara) in a fantastic legend which states that the ocean became
Sagara’s son.27

Sagara subjected all contemporary powers and was the emperor
of the whole of the north. The only important kingdoms to survive
Sagara’s onslaughts appear to be Videha, Vai£all and Anava in the
east, the Vidarbhas and the Yadava branch on the river Chaibbal in
the south, Kaii in the Madhyadesa and Turvasus in the hilly tracts
of Rewah. Sagara’s eldest son Asamanjas, being cruel to the citizens,
was discarded, and the latter’s son Azhiumant succeeded him.

Vaisdlt: Karandhama, king of Vaiiall, is said to have been be¬
sieged by a confederacy of kings whom at last he defeated. He also
rescued his son Avikshit, who was captured by the king of VidiSa
(probably a Haihaya chieftain) and his allies after a great conflict,
and dealt them a severe blow. Marutta, one of the sixteen univer¬
sal monarchs of antiquity, was born to Avikshit from Yisala,
daughter of the Vidiga king. Marutta was a ceaseless and tireless
performer of sacrifices. He had thousands of vessels, sacrificial
utensils, etc., made of gold. Despite his great valour, Marutta had
immense troubles from the Nagas. He was determined to exter¬
minate them completely by setting fire to their habitations, though
they took refuge with his father; but, when the Nagas restored to
life the Rishis killed by them by means of herbs and by sucking out
the poison, he let them off. According to Pargiter, these enemies
were really the Haihayas, and Marutta deserves credit for ending
the Haihaya aggressions permanently in the east.26

5. Brdhmana Families

As noted above, the Bhrigus or Bhargavas practically dominated
the whole epoch, and Ricbika, Jamadagni, Parasurama, and Agni
Aurva were the prominent Bhargavas.

Ayasya is the first Angiras mentioned in traditional history, and
he officiated as a priest at the sacrificial ceremony of offering Sunah
sepa as a victim in the reign of Harischandra of Ayodhya. The
Angirasas are found in connection with the Vaisala kings as their
hereditary priests. Usija Angiras was the priest of Karandhama
and Avikshit, and two of his sons, Bjrihaspati and Samvarta officia¬
ted for Marutta Avlkshita. Uchathya, the eldest son of U£ija, had
by his wife Mamata a son named DIrghatamas, who was bom blind.

291

THE VEDIC AGE

Dirghatamas was expelled for gross misconduct and set adrift in
the Ganges, where after floating some distance downstream, he was
rescued by king Bali of the Eastern Anavas. At Bali’s desire, he
begot five sons on Bali’s queen, as mentioned above (p. 290). Dir-
ghatafnas is later said to have regained his sight. Towards the end
of his life, Dirghatamas consecrated king Bharata of the Pauravas.
Brihaspati had a son Bharadvaja, who moved to Kaii and became
priest to king Divodasa. His son Vitatha was adopted by Bharata
and he continued the Paurava line.

Datta Atreya, who was propitiated by Haihaya Arjuna, was the
only prominent figure among the Atris.

Devaraj Vasishtha was a priest of the Ayodhya kings during
the reigns of Trayyaruna and Satyavrata. His descendant officiated
for the foreign Sakas, Yavanas, etc. and later became priest to Sagara.
Another Vasishtha was Apava, in the Himalayas, whose hermitage
was burnt by Haihaya Arjuna.

Kasyapa, who officiated as priest at the sacrifice of Rama Jamad-
agnya and to whom the latter donated the whole earth, is the earliest
Kasyapa mentioned in traditional history. He is later said to have
expelled Rama from the earth as noted above (p. 287).

The only historical figure among the Agastyas is the Agastya
who married Lopamudra and was a contemporary of Alarka, grand¬
son of Pratardana of Kasi.

With the wars of Para£urama and Sagara described above, the
Kjitayuga, according to the Puranas, came to an end. As the result
of these wars, the old kingdoms of the Pauravas, Kanyakubjas. Druh-
yus, and Anavas in the Punjab gradually disappear. The Yadavas
recede into the Deccan, while the Haihayas are completely routed.
The eastern kingdom of Vaisall, Videha, Ayodhya, Kasi and the
Anavas in Bengal continue to exist during the next period.

8. THE RAMACHANDRA PERIOD (c. 2350-1950 B.C.)

1. The Solar Dynasty

There was some setback to Ayodhya after Sagara’s death.
Sagara was succeeded by his grandson Amsumant. The dynasty
again rose to prominence under Amsumant ?s sc,ond successor Bha-
giratha, and the latter’s third successor Ambarisha Nabhagi. Bhagl-
ratha is included in the list of sixteen famous kings and is celebrated
as a chakravartin and a samrtit, as also one who gained fame by his
gifts of cattle. He was a devotee of 6iva. He is reputed to have
brought down the sacred river Ganges (which is known as Bhagl-
rathl after him)29 from the heavens, through the power of his penance,
in order to liberate his ancestors cursed by Kapila. The fable per¬
haps indicates that Bhaglratha was the originator of the worship
of the Ganges, or more plausibly, it may have some reference to the

292

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST TIME

canals dug by him from the Himalayas. Ambarisha was a powerful
monarch and in his reign Ayodnya rose into prominence. The
legends about his connection with the Bhagavata cult and the Dva-
dasl vow are later creations. His third successor was Rituparjpa
who figures in the well-known Nala episode.30 Ritupanpa’s son
Sudasa has been identified with the Vedic Sudas of the Ddsarajna
by some scholars; but beyond mere similarity of names, there is
nothing in support of this identification. Around Sudasa’s son Mitra-
saha has grown a cluster of wild and fantastic legends, invented
perhaps to explain his second name Kalmashapada. The king is
said to have served human flesh through mistake to his preceptor
Vasishtha who doomed the king to become a Rakshasa; but on rea¬
lizing that the king was not at fault, the sage limited the duration
of his curse to only twelve years. The king, in his turn, prepared
to curse his guru, but at the intercession of his queen, threw the
mantra-charmed water over his own feet, because throwing it on
the ground would have rendered the earth barren for years. But
the charmed water turned his feet into stone, which led to his being
called Kalmashapada.31 After Kalmashapada resumed his natural
state, he had, on account of a curse, to raise issue from his wife
by a Niyoga or levirate union with Vasishtha. Asmaka, the son of
the union, founded the city Paudanya.32 Asmaka had a son named
Mulaka, who later came to be called Narikavacha because it is said
he sought protection among the women-folk through fear of Para-
surama. But Parasurama flourished generations before Asmaka, and
the story has no chronological value. Probably it refers to the dis¬
turbed state of the kingdom after the days of Kalmashapada when
his successors were weaklings, and during this period, when the
Bharatas and Paiichalas were at the height of their power, the Ayo¬
dhya kings appear to have suffered reverses as the result of which
Mulaka was to be brought up in secret. It appears that there- was
a bifurcation in the Ayodhya line for some six or seven generations
after Kalmashapada's time. The two lines, however, were united
in a single monarchy under Khatvahga, also known as Dilipa II.
He was a great samrat and a chakravartin, and is said to have help¬
ed the gods in their fight against the Asuras. He was a great devotee
- of Vishnu, and had a son named Raghu. The Ikshvaku dynasty
came to be called Raghuvamsa on account of this celebrated Raghu.
He conquered the whole earth and performed the Visvajit sacrifice.
Being an ideal monarch, Raghu has been called the first king of
Ayodhya. Raghu was succeeded by his son Aja, the consort of the
Vidarbha princess Indumatl, to whom was bom Da£aratha. Da£a-
ratha was a valiant and all-conquering monarch who led his victo¬
rious campaigns throughout the length and breadth of North India,
and spread the Aryan culture far and wide. The Yadava contem¬
porary of Dasaratha was Madhu who had consolidated the Yadava

293

V. A — 10

THE VEDIC AGE

kingdom, and the contemporary Pauravas heid at least four states
in the Ganges-Jumna Doab, with the north Panchala branch special¬
ly prominent. The Kosala kingdom at the time of Dasaratha was
bounded on the east by Videha, Vaisali and Ahga; the Vatsa country
which formed part of Ka&i lay to its south; it was bounded on the
west by the Paurava principalities of north and south Panchala,
the main Hastinapura realm, and one more Paurava kingdom be¬
tween north Panchala and Kosala. The region south from the Jumna
up to Gujarat and beyond the Vindhya and the Satpura mountains
was under Yadava domination with the emperor Madhu at the helm.

Besides his three principal queens, viz. Kausalya, Sumitra and
Kaikeyi, Dasaratha had a number of other wives. Dasaratha had
married Kaikeyi on the stipulation that the son born of her was to
succeed him. He had a daughter Santa whom he gave in adoption,
to the Ahga king Lomapada. Being without an heir for a long time,
Dasaratha performed Putrakameshfi (rite for securing male issue)
on the advice of Vasishtha under the guidance of Itfshy^rmga, who
was married to Santa. As a result, four sons were born to Dasa¬
ratha, viz. Rama to Kausalya, Bharata to Kaikeyi and Lakshmana
and Satrughna to Sumitra. Rama and Lakshmana obtained instruc¬
tion in the science of archery from Visvamitra and they helped him
in the performance of a sacrifice by vanquishing the horde of Rak-
shasas that disturbed him. Then Visvamitra took the princes to
Mithila, where Rama fulfilled the conditions and was married to Sita.
It is later on when Dasaratha proposed to instal Rama as crown
prince that the main story of Rama, as recorded in the Rdmayana ,
may be said to begin.33

The story of Rama is particularly important as it brings South
India definitely into view for the first time. Various have been the
theories and interpretations about the Rdmayana , and the text of
the epic has been subjected to interpolations and additions in every
stage of its career. But despite its accretions, mythological and fabu¬
lous legends, etc., the text can be made to yield historical facts.
When preparations were made to instal Rama, the eldest son, as
heir apparent, palace intrigues set in, and his step-mother Kaikeyi
secured through Dasaratha the banishment of Rama along with Sita
and Lakshmana to the Dacujlaka forest for fourteen years.
Dairfaka in these days was a great impenetrable forest save
for a few patches here and there occupied by Aryan adven¬
turers. Rama first went to Prayaga and from there south-west
to the region of Bhopal, whence he proceeded south across the Nar¬
mada and then probably to the Chhattisgarh district, where he dwelt
for ten years. Thereafter he went south to the middle of the Goda¬
vari in the province called Janasthana, which was a colony of the
Rakshasas, who had intercourse with their kingdom in Ceylon. The
Rakshasas ill-treated the Munis (sages) and Rama espoused the lat-

294

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST TIME

ters? cause and killed a number of Rakshasas. In revenge Havana,
the Rakshasa king, carried away Sita to Ceylon* Rama proceeded
south in quest of Sita, came to lake Pampa and Rishyamuka Parvata,
where he made friends with Sugriva, the king of the Vanaras, who
was expelled by his brother Valin. Rama killed Valin and reinsta¬
ted Sugriva on the throne. With the aid of the Vanara army and
chiefs, Rama invaded Ceylon, defeated the Rakshasas, killed Ravana
and recovered Sita, He placed Bibhishai?a, younger brother of
Havana, on the throne in Ceylon and returned to Ayodhya.

Bharata acted as regent during Rama’s exile. Rama was crown¬
ed after his return to Ayodhya, and reigned prosperously for many
years.

The story of Rama, divested of its miraculous, fabulous, incre¬
dible and mythological elements, clearly indicates that he was a
great king who spread Aryan ideas and institutions into regions far
and wide. “Rama’s rule” is still proverbial for the Golden Age.

Rama ’s younger brothers ruled over different provinces. Laksh-
maija had two sons, Ahgada and Chandraketu, and they were assigned
two countries in Karapatha-desa near the Himalayas, with their res¬
pective capitals at Arigadiya and Chandrachakra. Bharata apparent¬
ly got the Kekaya kingdom which was the province of his mother,
and also Sindhu, i.e. Upper Sind. His two sons, Taksha and Push-
kara, conquered Gandhara from the Gandharvas, and founded res¬
pectively Takshasila and Pushkaravati.34 Aatrughna fought the
Satvata-Yadavas on the west of the Jumna and killed Madhava
Lavana, son of Madhu. He established his capital at Madhupuri
or Madhura re-naming it as Mathura, and his son Subahu reigned
there. Rarna had two sons, Kusa and Lava, born of Sita in the
hermitage of Valmlki after Rama had deserted her in deference
to public opinion. Kuia succeeded Rama in the Ayodhya kingdom,
while Lava got the northern portion of Kosala with SravastI as
capital.

These collateral kingdoms, however, appear to have come to an
end soon. The two Gandhara states are not mentioned any further,
- and probably were amalgamated by the neighbouring Druhyus.
Satrughna’s sons were expelled from Mathura by the Yadava king
Bhlma Satvata, and Mathura became a Yadava principality. No
further account is given of the territories of Lakshmana’s sons nor
of Lava’s kingdom. Ayodhya sinks into insignificance hereafter
in traditional history, the chief roles being played only by the
Pauravas and the Yadavas.

Videha: Slradhvdja, the father of Sita, was one of the most
celebrated of the Janakas. King Sudhanvan of Sankishya demand¬
ed the hand of Sita in marriage from Slradhvaja, but the latter
killed Sudhanvan in a fierce battle and installed his own brother
Kusadhvaja on the Sankishya throne. Siradhvaja’s daughters, Sita

295

THE VEDIC AGE

tmd UrmiLa were married respectively to Rama and Dakshmana,
sons of Dasaratha, and Kusadhvaja’s daughters Man-davi and 6ruta-
kirti, respectively to Bharata and Satrughna.

Vaisali ; Marutta’s son Narishyanta is said to have performed
a grand sacrifice, and he was a great donor. His son Dama was a
great warrior who won a Dasarna princess after defeating rival
kings in a Svayamvara. A few generations after Dama came Tripa-
bindu, who is said to have ruled during the third quarter of the
Treta Age. Tfinabindu married Alambusha and had a son Visala
and a daughter Ilavila. Ilavila was given in marriage to Pulastya,
and their son was Visravas Ailavila. Visala is credited with the
foundation of the capital Visala, and so this kingdom came to be
called Vaisali (a name hitherto used in anticipation). Pramati or
Sumati, the last name in the list, was a contemporary of Dasaratha.

2. The Lunar Dynasty

Pauravas : Dushyanta, the Paurava hero, appears to have
flourished about a couple of generations subsequent to king Sagara
of Ayodhya. Dushyanta was adopted as heir by the Turvasu king
Marutta who had no son, so that the Turvasu line merged into the
Pauravas. The central power of the Ikshvakus became weak after
Sagara’s death, and Dushyanta took that opportunity of recovering
his ancestral kingdom. Dushyanta also revived the dynasty and
hence is styled its Vamsakara. He married Visvamitra’s daughter
Sakuntala who was brought up in the hermitage of one Kanva of
the Kasyapa family, and his son was the celebrated prince Bharata.

Bharata, also known as Damana or Sarvaaamana, performed
a number of sacrifices on the Ganges and the Jumna with the aid
of Dirghatamas Mamateya. He also sacrificed on the Sarasvatl. He
was a great conqueror and samrat with a wide sway. He extended
his dominions northward and his territories stretched from the
Sarasvati to the Ganges. The Paurava dynasty came to be called
Bharatas after the time of Bharata. It was probably during Bha-
rata’s regime that the headquarters of the state were shifted from
Pratishthana to the city, called later Hastinapura, after his successor
Hastin. According to some accounts, Bharata gave his name to our
country which was henceforth called Bharata varsha. Bharata was
disappointed in his sons and killed them. He propitiated the Maruts
in order to obtain an heir and they gave him Brihaspati’s son Bha-
radvaja as an adopted son. Bharadvaja’s son Vitatha, however,
succeeded Bharata. Hastin, the fifth successor from Bharata, had
two sons Ajamldha and DvimI<Jha under whom the Paurava realm
extended and fresh kingdoms were founded. Ajamldha, the elder,
continued the main line at Hastinapura and Dvimltfha founded the
Dvimidha dynasty in the modem district of Bareilly. Ajamldha
had three sons, viz. Riksha, Nila, and Brihadvasu. On Ajamltfha’s

29 r>

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST TIME

death, the main Paurava realm was divided among these sons,
Kiksha succeeding his father at Hastinapura in the main line, which
remained the Paurava line, and Nila and Brihadvasu founded what
later came to be known respectively as the north Panchala and
south Pahchala dynasties.36

The country came to be known as Pahchala from the “five”
sons of Bhyimyasva (the sixth successor from Ajamltfha) who were
jocosely nicknamed “capable” ( paUcha alam). The Panchalas, thus,
were a branch of the Bharatas. The name suggests an amalgamation
of five tribes, and there has been some speculation as to which parti¬
cular tribes went to form the Pahchalas. The Pahchala kingdom
was divided between the five sons of Bhrimyasva, each of them re¬
ceiving a small principality. Mudgala, the eldest, founded an im¬
portant branch. Vadhryasva, the grandson of Mudgala, extended
the kingdom, and his son Divodasa further augmented it. Pargiter
and other scholars identify this Divodasa and his descendant Soma-
datta-Sudasa with their Vedic namesakes, the latter of whom was
the chief participant in the celebrated battle of ten kings.36

Yadavas: Kratha-Bhlma continued the main Yadava line of
Vidarbha, and Kaisika. his younger brother, was the progenitor of
the Chedis. The most important king of Vidarbha was Bhlmaratha,
father of the celebrated Damayanti, who was married to Nala of
Nishadha. Madhu. who came about ten generations after Bhlma¬
ratha, appears to have consolidated the small Yadava principalities
into which the Yadavas were divided before him. Madhu's son
Lavana was killed by Satrughna, who installed his own son Subahu
in Mathura. But Subahu was ousted by Bhlma Satvata, son of
Sat vat, who was Madhu’s fifth successor.

Eastern Anavas: We do not know any particulars about the
kings in the Anga genealogy till we come to Lomapada, who is placed
seventh in the genealogical list. Lomapada was a well-known archer
and a great friend of king Dasaratha of Ayodhya, the father of Hama.
Lomapada was childless and adopted Santa, the daughter of king
Dasaratha. Santa was married to Rishyasringa who performed the
Putrakameshti sacrifice for Lomapada as the result .of which Loma¬
pada got a son named Chaturanga. Lomapada’s great-grandson
Champa gave the name Champa to the Anga capital, which was till
then known as Malini.

Kasi: King Alarka, who finally drove the Rakshasas from
Benares and re-established his capital there, is said to have been
born to Ptitudhvaja (another name of Vatsa) from Madalasa. Alarka
was a spiritually-minded king and relinquished the kingdom in
favour of his brother when the latter invaded it. Alarka was
succeeded by his son Sannati.

297

THE VEDIC AGE

3. Br&hmana Families

Among the Bhargavas during this period, appears Valmiki of
the Ramdyana, who was called Prachetasa.

The father of Sakuntala was an important Visvamitra in this
period, and another appears as the contemporary and rival of
Vasishfha, the priest of Mitrasaha-Kalmashapada.

9. THE KRISHNA PERIOD (c. 1950-1400 B.C.)

With the coronation of Rama as king of Ayodhya after the des¬
truction of the Rakshasas began the Dvapara age which ended with
the Bharata War. During this period it is only the Panchalas, Pau-
xavas, and Yadavas that prominently figure in traditional history,
while Ayodhya and others sink into the background.

1. Panch&las

The North Panchala power rose into prominence during the
reign of Sudasa who made extensive conquests. He defeated the
Paurava king Samvarana and conquered his kingdom. Sudasa was
succeeded by his son Sahadeva and grandson Somaka, but the for¬
tunes of the Panchalas waned after the time of Sudasa. Samvarana,
the Paurava king, had recovered his territory probably from Somaka,
and later, king Ugrayudha of the Dvimldhas killed the North Pan¬
chala king (probably the grand-father of Prishata) and annexed his
realm. Prishata, the exiled North Panchala claimant, sought refuge
in Kampilya of South Panchala. Ugrayudha then attacked the Paura-
vas after Santanu’s death, but was defeated and killed by Bhishma,
who restored Prishata to his ancestral kingdom of Ahichchhatra.'Dru-
pada succeeded his father Prishata in North Panchala. Droija, a fellow
student, whom Drupada had insulted, defeated the latter with the
aid of the young Pantfu and Kuru princes who were his disciples.
Out of both the North and South Panchalas which he thus conquer¬
ed, Dropa kept North Panchala for himself and gave South Pan-
chSla to Drupada. The Somakas and Srinjayas, the remnants of
the PahchSlas, appear to have joined Drupada as they accompanied
him in the great Bharata War. Drupada performed penance in
order to get a son who would avenge his defeat by Drona and kill
him, and Dhrishtadyumna was bom as the result. The Panchalas
played a very important part in the age of the Bharata War. The
Paodavas married DraupadT, the Panchala princess, daughter of
Drupada, and the Panchalas were the staunch supporters of the Pa $-
davas.

Brahmadatta seems to have been an important king among the
South Panchalas. Tradition connects him with the revision and re¬
arrangement of Vedic and exegelical texts. He fixed the Kramapatha
of the Rigveda and of the Atharvaveda , and his minister Kandarlka
of the Samareda. Brahmadatta ‘s great-grandson Janamejaya Dur-

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST TIME

buddhi, the last king, was a tyrant and was killed by Ugrayudha of
the Dvimwjhas, and the dynasty came to an end.

2. Pauravas

As noted above, the Panchala king Sudasa overthrew Samva-
raoa, the Paurava king. The latter fled to Sind and then recovered
his kingdom through Vasishtha’s help.37 Samvarana had by Tapatl
a son named Kura, who was a renowned king raising the Paurava
realm to great eminence. Kura is said to have sacrificed at Prayaga
which indicates that he extended his sway up to that place after
subduing the intervening South Panchala territory. Kurakshetra
and Kurujahgala, the cultivated and uncultivated portions, respec¬
tively. of Kuru’s territory, have been regarded by Pargiter as being
named after this Kuru.38 Kura was celebrated for his righteous
rule, and Kurakshetra was regarded as a religious place. He was
so much esteemed that his successors were called Kurus or Kaura-
vas after him, the term sometimes being applied also to the people
of the realm.

There is some confusion in the Puranic texts with regard to
Kura’s immediate successors. The collated text39 suggests that
Kuru had three sons, Parikshit, the eldest, Jahnu, and Sudhanvan.
Parikshit had Janamejaya as his son, and the latter’s sons were
Srutasena, Ugrasena, and Bhimasena; but nothing further is said
about them. The accounts then pass on to Jahnu ’s son Suratha and
his descendants, who thus appear to have continued the main Pau¬
rava (or Kuru) line. The succession of Jahnu ’s son Suratha on tho
main line indicates that Janamejaya ’s branch lost the sovereignty.
A story is told how Janamejaya lost his throne.40 Janamejaya in¬
jured the sage Gargya’s son and was curbed by Gargya. Indrota
Daivapa Saunaka performed a ’horse-sacrifice for him, which absolv¬
ed him of his sin, but he could not recover his sovereignty and hence
his three sons do not appear in the accounts.

The line of Sudhanvan, the youngest son of Kura, bifurcated into
the Chedi and the Magadha branches, founded by his fourth succes¬
sor Vasu. The kingdom held by the main Paurava line appears to
have declined, and there was no ruler in this line to revive the
Kaurava fortunes till the time of Pratlpa, who was a famous ruler.
Pratlpa had three sons, Devapi, Bahlika, and Santanu. The eldest
Devapi was a leper, and hence could not become a ruler. The second
Bahlika resigned in favour of Santanu, who thus succeeded Pratlpa.
The epic gives various legends about Santanu. Santanu married
Ganga, and Bhishma was born to them. Fhishma, whose original
name was Devavrata, vowed to remain celibate all his life and re¬
nounced his right to the throne in favour of his younger brothers in
order to enable his father to marry Satyavati. Bhishma is a celebrat¬
ed figure in the galaxy of Indian heroes. He was a great warrior, an

299

THE VEDIC AGE

able administrator and well versed in politics, science of war, etc.
Ugrayudha of the Dviimtfhas attacked the Kauravas but, as noted
above, Bhishma killed him and reinstated Prishata, the son of the
late ruler of North Panchalas, whom Ugrayudha had driven out.

To £antanu were born Chitrangada and Vichitravirya from
Satyavatl. Chitrangada was killed while fighting against the Gan-
dharvas and Vichitravirya succeeded him on the throne. But
Vichitravirya died young without leaving any issue, and the queen
of Vichitravirya had through Niyoga (levirate) two sons from Vyasa,
viz. Dhritarashtra and Paridu. Dhritarashtra, the elder, being bom
blind, Pandu was crowned king of Hastinapura while the veteran Bhi¬
shma looked to the affairs of state. Dhritarashtra married Qandharl,
and had by her a hundred sons, chief of whom were Duryodhana,
Duhsasana, etc. Pandu married KuntI or Pritha, daughter of Kunti-
bhoja and an aunt of Krishna, and Madri, sister of Salya, the Vahlka
king. After his marriage with Madri, Pan<Ju started on his campaign
of conquest. He vanquished the Dasarnas, the kings of Mithila,
Kasi, Suhma. and Pundra and extended the Kuru dominions.41 While
engaged in hunting, Pandu killed a sage in the form of deer and was
cursed. In repentance, Pandu left his kingdom and ‘went along with
his wives to the Himalayas for performing penance. There Kunti
gave birth to Yudhishthira, Bhlma, and Arjuna who are, in reality,
said to be respectively the sons of Yama, Vayu, and Indra; and
Madri, to the twins Nakula and Sahadeva from the Aivins. Pandu
died in the hermitage, and Madri, burnt herself along with him on
his funeral pyre. Thereafter, Kunti returned to Hastinapura along
with the five sons. Dhritarashtra assumed the reins of govern¬
ment in the meanwhile and appointed Yudhishthira, the first-bom
among the Kuru family, as the crown prince. Though the sons of
both Dhritarashtra and Pandu were Kauravas, the term was restricted
to the sons of Dhritarashtra, and Paajdu’s sons were called Pandavas.

Chedi and Magadha: Vasu, the fourth successor of Sudhanvan,
conquered the Chedi kingdom from the Yadavas and founded a dy¬
nasty there, whence he obtained the epithet Chaidyoparichara ‘(over-
comer of Chaidyas). His capital Suktimatl lay on the river Sukti-
matl (the Ken). Vasu was a samrat and a chdkravartin and extend¬
ed his sway over adjoining Magadha, and possibly over Matsya also.
He had five sons, among whom he divided his territory, establishing
them in separate kingdoms. Magadha came as the share cf his
eldest son Brihadratha. Ku£a was given Kauaambi, Yadu had
Karusha, and Pratyagraha got Chedi. Probably the last son got
Matsya which adjoined Chedi in the north-west.

With Brihadratha establishing himself in Magadha, with Giri*
vraja as his capital, and founding the famous Barhadratha dynasty,
Magadha becomes a prominent factor in traditional history. Jara-
sandha in the Barhadratha line was a very powerful king, and under

300

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST TIME

him Magadha rose to great prominence. He extended his territories
as far away as Mathura, where Kamsa, the Yadava king, who was his
sonrin-law, accepted his suzerainty. Kamsa tyrannized over his
people and was killed by Krishna who placed Ugrasena on the Ma¬
thura throne. Enraged at this, Jarasandha led many a campaign
against Kyishna and the Bhojas of Mathura, defeating them several
times. Though the Yadavas could withstand Jarasandha for a time,
they decided to migrate in a body south-westward as they were afraid
of a complete rout at his hands. They then established themselves
in the west coast with their head-quarters at Dvaraka under Krishna.
Jarasandha was killed by Bhima, the Panda va, and his son Saha-
deva became an ally of the -Panda vas.

3. Yadavas

The large Yadava kingdom ruled over by Bhima Satvata was
divided among his four sons, Bhajamana, Devavridha, Andhaka, and
Vrishni. Bhajamana’s descendants appear to have attained no dis¬
tinction. Devavridha was connected with the river Parnasa (Banas
in West Malwa), and his descendants were the Bhojas of Martti-
kavata, apparently in Salva country around Mount Abu. Andhaka,
who reigned at Mathura, had four sons, but only Kukura and Bhaja¬
mana are important. From Kukura were descended the Kukuras
who formed the main dynasty down to Kamsa. Bhajamana’s des¬
cendants were known as Andhakas, and they ruled somewhere near
Mathura. An important king in the line was Kyitavarma, the son
of Hridika, who fought on the side of Duryodhana and was one of
the three on the Kauravas’ side who survived the Bharata War.
Thereafter, he went to Dvaraka and later was killed by Satyaki in
the fateful fratricidal struggle that brought the downfall of the Ya¬
davas. Vrishni had at least four sons, the eldest and the youngest
having the same name Anamitra. From them arose numerous
families. From Anamitra or Sumitra, the eldest, was bom Nighna,
and his sons Prasena and Satrajit succeeded him. Satrajit is a well-
known figure in . the Syamantaka legend connected with Krishjia,
and was the father of Satyabhama, one of the eight principal queens
of Krishna. Devamidhusha in the line married an Ikshvaku princess
„ named AsmakI and a son named Sura was born to him. From Sura
and his queen, a Bhoja princess named Marlsha, were born ten sons
and five daughters including Vasudeva who was the eldest, and
Pritha, Sruladeva, and Srutasrava. Pritha was adopted by the
old king Kuntibhoja from whom she came to be known as Kuntl.
She married the Paurava prince Pan<Ju. and was the mother
of elder Pandavas. Srutadeva married a Karusha king named
Vriddhasarma. £rutasrava was given to the Chedi king Dama-
ghosha, and Siiupala was born to them. Vasudeva married
the seven daughters 'Devakl. etc.) of king Devaka of the

30 1

THE VEDIC AGE

Kukuras, and Balarama and Krishna were the sons of Vasudeva.
Vasudeva’s daughter Subhadra married Arjuna, the P&pdava, to
whom Abhimanyu was bom from her. Abhimanyu’s son was Parik-
shit who occupied the Hastinapura throne after the Bharata War.
The descendants of Anamitra, the youngest son of Vjrishni by Madrf,
are called Sainyas through his son Sini. Satyaki and Yuyudhana
were bom in this family.

Ahuka among the Kukuras had, by a Ka£i princess, Devaka,
Ugrasena, and other sons. Devaka had four sons and seven
daughters (Devaki, etc.). Krishna was born of Devakl. Ugrasena
had nine sons and five daughters, Kamsa being the eldest. Kamsa
usurped the throne after imprisoning his father. Vasudeva was
his minister. Kamsa killed seven children of his cousin Devakl,
relying on a prediction that her eighth issue was destined to be his
slayer. Krishna and Balarama were brought up in Gokula and
Vrindavana. Krishna killed Kamsa and reinstated Ugrasena on the
Mathura kingdom as already stated.

Krishna being the central figure in this epoch, we shall briefly
deal with his life and historicity.42 Krishna was bom in the prison
cell at Mathura, but immediately after birth was removed to Gokula
on the other side of the Jumna with the aid of the prison warders
and others who were dissatisfied with the tyrant Kamsa. He was
brought up in Gokula as the child of Nanda and Yasoda, whose
daughter was substituted for Krishna and was later killed by Kamsa.
As a child, Krishna appears to have been endowed with extraordinary
gifts and passed through many adventures. His childhood was
spent in Gokula and various incidents connected with his youth are
recorded in the Puranas and other texts. The incidents are pre¬
sented in the garb of myths and miracles, but there may be a real
basis for some of them. A few years after Krishna's birth, the
cowherds left Gokula on account of an onrush of ferocious wolves
and settled in Vrindavana, where Krishna subjugated Kaliya, a Naga
chief, and ordered him to leave the place with his tribe. In Vrinda¬
vana. in place of the usual Indrayajna, Krishna established the prac¬
tice of worshipping nature. Krishna’s extraordinary exploits,
widespread popularity, and great fame reached the ears of Kamsa.
and he planned to kill, through his wrestlers, the Vrishni princes
Krishna and Balarama, after inviting them to Mathura to visit his
court and attend a wrestling bout. Krishna and Balarama, however,
killed the prize fighters. Kj-ish^a then slew the tyrant Kamsa him¬
self, and re-instated Ugrasena on the Mathura throne. Thereafter,
Krishna and Balarama left for Kaii for their education, but had to
return soon on account of the invasion of Mathura by Jarasandha.
the Magadha king, who was enraged at Kamsa’s death, the latter
being his son-in-law. Jarasandha ’s invasions were resisted for

.*02

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST TIME

some time, but finally the Yadavas decided to leave Mathura in a
body and settled in Dvaraka on the west coast.

Krishna appears for the first time in the Mahdbhdrata story at
the Svayamvara of Draupadl. He was a friend and counsellor of the
Pa$£avas, and his sister Subhadra was married to Arjuna. Kin"
Jarasandha of Magadha was killed by Bhima under Krishna’s direc¬
tions. At the rajasuya performed by the Pan<Javas, Krishna was
offered the first worship. This enraged the Chedi king Siiupala
who heaped vile abuse upon Krishna and was killed by him. After
the period of the Pai^avas’ exile was over, Krishna acted as their
emissary of peace to Duryodhana, but all his efforts at conciliation
proved futile. In the great Bharata War, Krishna offered his per¬
sonal help as a charioteer to Arjuna, while his army joined the Kau-
ravas. Krishna helped the Paijtfavas a number of times during the
great war. In fact it was mainly, if not solely, due to the impor¬
tant part played by Krishna in the great war that the Pai^avas
emerged victorious.

Krishna returned to Dvaraka after Yudhishthira was installed
on the Hastinapura throne. He revived the stillborn child of Abhi-
manyu’s widow Uttara, later known as Parikshit. The last meeting
of Krishna and the Pantfavas was at the latter’s Asvamedha. To¬
wards the close of Krishna's life there was a fratricidal struggle
among the Yadavas in which practically the entire Yadava males
were destroyed. Then Krishna sent a messenger to Hastinapura
inviting Arjuna to come to Dvaraka and look after the women and
children, and asking them to accompany Arjuna, Krishna retired to
the forest. Arjuna came to Dvaraka, took with him the remnants
of the Yadu family, and installed Vajra, the only surviving grand¬
son of Krishna, on the throne of Mathura. Krishna, when in deep
meditation, was hit by the arrow of a hunter who mistook him for
a deer. Thus passed away one of the grandest figures in ancient
India. There is now a general consensus of opinion in favour of
the historicity of Krishna. Many also hold the view that Vasudeva,
the Yadava hero, the cowherd boy Krishna in Gokula, the counsellor
of the Panda vas, and the great philosopher of the Bhagavadgitd, or in
short Krishna of the Puranas and Krishna of the Mahdbhdrata were
one and the same person.43 The deification of Vasudeva Krishna as
an incarnation of Vishnu must be dated before the period of the
Mahabhashya (i.e. second century B.C.).

4. Eastern Anavas

Under the suzerainty of Jarasandha, king of Magadha, A#ga
came to be ruled for some time by Kan>a, who was a faithful ally
of the Kauravas, and one of the principal actors in the Great Epic
of India. Among the galaxy of epic heroes Kama occupies a very
high position, and his real worth has not been fully appreciated as

303

THE VEDIC AGE

he is looked at with prejudice on account of his becoming a staunch
supporter of Duryodhana. Ill-luck seems to have pursued Karima
from his very birth, when he was deserted by his mother Kunti, as
he was born, when she was still a maiden, from the Sun God. He
was thus in reality the eldest of the Pantfavas, but being brought up
by a Suta, he met with slights and insults at every stage in his life.
His so-called low birth came in the way of his being ranked as fit to
compete with Arjuna. Duryodhana at once crowned him the king
of Aiiga, and thus began a cordial friendship which made Kar^a the
strongest supporter of the Kauravas, whose every cause he cham¬
pioned with thorough wholeheartedness. Kama met with his end
not because he was beaten, nor on account of his being inferior to
Arjuna in any way, but he was the victim of his own greatness, and
destiny was always against him. He is indeed a unique hero who
should be admired for his magnanimity, unflinching devotion to the
cause he championed, valour, skill, and truthfulness. Vrishasena
was the eldest of the sons of Kama; but along witfy his five brothers,
he was killed in the Bharata War.

5. The Solar Dynasty

After Rama’s time, Ayodhya plays no important part in tradi¬
tional history. Kusa, Rama’s son, who became the ruler of south
Kosala with his capital at Kusasthali, appears to have extended the
Aryan culture in the Vindhya regions. The story of Kusa’s marriage
with a Naga princess shows how he spread the Vedic culture among
the aborigines. The next important figure after Kusa is Hiranya-
nabha Kausalya who is described as a disciple of Jaimini from whom
he learnt the science of Yoga. The last Solar king of the pre-Bharata
War period was Brihadbala who led the Ayodhya forces against the
Panovas. Though Bhima conquered him before the Rajasuya.
Brihadbala was subsequently subjugated by Kama and hence he
fought at the head of the Kaurava forces. Brihadbala was killed
by Abhimanyu in the Kurukshetra war.

10. THE BHARATA WAR (c. 1400 B.C.)

1. Kauravas and Panfavas44

All the young Kuru princes received training in arms from
Kripa and Drona, where Aivatthaman and Kama were their study-
mates. Bhima and Duryodhana specialized in club-fighting and
wrestling, Nakula and Sahadeva in fencing, Yudhishthira in chariot
fighting, and Aivatthaman in magic arts. Arjuna was not only the
best archer but excelled all in every respect. But Kama was
Arjuna’s equal in archery. On completion of their training, Drona
demanded as his fees the defeat and capture of the Panchala king
Drupada who had insulted him as his co-student. The Kuru princes
marched against Drupada and vanquished him. Drona made peace
with Drupada by leaving South Panchala to him and taking North

?0.1

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST TIME

Panchala for himself. Dhyitarashtra’s sons, through jealousy, set
on foot various plots in order to destroy their cousins, but the Pan*
davas escaped unhurt through all these traps. After their safe
escape from the lac house at Varanavata, the Pandavas started on a
journey in the guise of Brahmanas. They came to Kampilya, and
on Arj una’s successfully accomplishing the feat imposed as a test in
the Svayamvara of princess Draupadi of Panchala, daughter of king
Drupada, she became the common wife of the five Pajndava brothers.
Bearing of the successes of the Pandavas, Dhritarashpra called them
back to Hastinapura and gave them the Khandava-Prastha desert.
The Pandavas founded Indraprastha and made it their capital.
Owing to breach of a self-imposed rule, Arjuna went on a voluntary
pilgrimage for twelve years during which he contracted marital
alliance with Chitrangada, princess of Manipur, and Subhadra, the
Yadava princess, sister of Krishna. The Parujavas burnt down the
whole of Khaa?dava jungle, saving the life of Maya Asura, who in
gratitude erected for them a wonderful assembly hall. Then Yu-
dhishthira decided to perform a Rajasuya sacrifice as the emblem of
sovereignty. As a preliminary to the sacrifice, the other four Pan¬
da va brothers set out on conquering the whole earth. King Jara-
sandha of Magadha was their greatest opponent and challenger,
and under the advice and guidance of Kpishija, Bhlma killed Jara-
sandha in a duel. Jarasandha’s son Sahadeva was installed on the
Magadha throne and he became an ally of the Paodavas. Bhima,
Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva led campaigns respectively towards
the east, north, west, and south. The descriptions of these con¬
quests throw much light upon the countries and peoples of the days
of the MahabhArata, though at places there are myth and anachro¬
nism. Numerous kings including the Kauravas were invited to the
Rajasuya, and Krishna was offered the first worship therein. The
Chedi king Sisupala objected, and in the quarrel that followed, was
killed by Krishna. It was after the Rajasuya when Duryodhana
was inspecting the Sabha or Assembly Hall built by Maya that the
seeds of the Bharata War were deeply sown. The rapid rise of the
Pandavas was an eyesore to the Kauravas and they hit upon a plan
to oust them from their kingdom. Taking advantage of the Ksha-
triya code of conduct that one should not refuse, when invited for
a duel or for a gambling-match, Duryodhana called on Yudhish-
thira for a game of dice, in which the latter staked everything
including Draupadi, and lost it. The denuding of Draupadi occurred
after this game of dice. From hot words, the princes were coming
to blows," but old Dhritarashtra let off the Pandavas. Soon after¬
wards the second game of dice was played in which the stake was
that the loser should spend twelve years in the forest, and the
thirteenth incognito. The Pandavas lost this game also, and had
to leave for the forest. Draupadi accompanied them. During the

305

THE VEDIC AGE

thirteenth year, Pandavas stayed in the Matsya country in disguise.
There they helped the Matsya king Virata against the attack of the
Kauravas. Virata s daughter Uttara was married to Abhimanyu,
the son of Arjuna. After completing the full period, seeing that
war was inevitable, each party tried to enlist as many sympathisers
as possible. Krishna himself sided with the Pandavas but his forces
fought on the side of the Kauravas. Salya was won over by Duryo-
dhana. Drupadas priest was sent to the Kauravas on behalf of
the Pagdavas for negotiations, and finally Krishna himself went as
an ambassador of peace. But Duryodhana was adamant and refused
to part with even a particle of earth. Thus began the Great War
which may be regarded as the greatest event in the prehistoric age
of India and forms the theme of the Great Epic Mahdbkdrata.

2. Bhdrata War

The epic gives a long list of princes on each side. The Kauravas
had eleven divisions under them as against the seven of the
Paodavas. Towards the east, out of the old Magadhan empire, only
western Magadha ruled by Jarasandha’s son Sahadeva was on the
Paodava side. All the rest, viz. eastern Magadha, Videha, Anga.
Vanga, and Kalinga, which were under Karga, joined the Kaurava
forces. The Kiratas under Bhagadatta, ruler of Pragjyotisha, also
were under the banner of the Kauravas, so that practically the
whole east supported them. In Madhyadesa, the rulers of Vatsa^
Kaii, Chedi, Karusha, Dasarna. and Panchala figured among the
supporters of the Pandavas, while Brihadbala, king of the Kosalas.
went to the opposite camp. The Yadavas were divided in their
allegiance. Krishna was the non-combatant adviser of the Pandavas
and Balarama remained neutral. Yuyudhana and Satyaki, among
the Vrishnis and Yadavas, came to the Pandavas, while Nila of
Mahishmatl, Vinda and Anuvinda of Avanti, Kritavarman of the
Bhoja-Andhaka- Vrishnis, Vidarbha, Nishada. and Salva supported
the Kaurava forces. In the Punjab and the north-west, Jayadratha
of Sindhu-Sauvira who was the brother-in-law of the Kauravas,
Sakuni of Gandhara, Susarma of Trigarta, Kekaya, Sibi. Salya of
Madra (related to the Pandavas), Vahllka, Kshudraka, Malava.
Sritayu of the Ambashthas, and Sudakshiga of the Kambojas, were
in the Kaurava army; only Abhisara, which formed the south-western
part of Kashmir is said to have joined the Pandavas. Thus, the
Pandavas’ supporters were Panchalas, Matsya, Chedi. Karusha,
Western Magadha, Kaii and south-western Yadavas. Under the
Kauravas came practically the whole of eastern India, the whole of
north-west, Kosala, Vatsa, and Surasena in the Madhyadesa, and
Mahishmatl, Avanti, and Salva in the west. In short, broadly speak¬
ing the Madhyadeia and Gujarat stood for Pandavas and the rest,
viz. east, north-west, and western India, opposed them. The Pa$-

306

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST TIME

dava army encamped near Upaplavya, the capital of the Matsyas;
and the Kaurava forces were gathered near Hastinapura. Last
minute efforts were made for an amicable settlement, but the nego¬
tiations proved futile, and the great battle was fought on the famous
field of Kurukshetra.

Dhjrishtadyumna, son of Drupada, was appointed the Comman-
der-in-Chief of the Pandavas and Bhlshma led the Kauravas. The
two hosts were bound to follow certain rules of war traditional
among the Kshatriyas. Only opponents of equal birth and armed
with the same kind of weapons were to fight each other. None was
to fight without first challenging his opponent. Those engaged
in personal combat with another, and those who surrendered, as
well as the fugitives and non-combatants were to be spared. The
venerable Bhlshma commanded the Kaurava forces during the first
ten days of war. It was only through the arrows discharged by
Arjuna against Bhlshma under the cover of Sikhandin (whom
Bhlshma did not fight, Sikhapdin being originally a woman) that
on the tenth day Bhlshma fell down headlong from his chariot.
Drona was consecrated the next commander, and he carried on the
fight till the fifteenth day. Abhimanyu was killed on the thirteenth
day and Gha$otkacha, the demon son of Bhlma, on the fourteenth.
Drupada and Virata were killed by Drona on the fifteenth day, and
finally that evening Dhpshtadyumna killed Drona, while in deep
sorrow on hearing the false news of the death of his son Aivattha-
man. Karna was the next commander. His turn lasted only for two
days during which Bhlma tore open Duhsasana’s breast. Kanpa was
killed by Arjuna. &alya became the commander on the eighteenth or
the last day of the battle. He was killed Yudhishthira by about
mid-day, while Sahadeva killed Sakuni. The entire host of tho
Kauravas was thus completely annihilated and Duryodhana fled
to a pond where the Pandavas challenged him. In the club-fight
against Bhlma Duryodhana *s thighs were smashed and he dropped
down bleeding. Duryodhana appointed Asvatthaman as the last
commander who, with the help of the other two survivors from
among the Kaurava heroes, viz. Kripa and Kritavarman, stealthily
entered into the Pandava camp at night and slaughtered the surviv¬
ing Pandava princes and Dhrishtadyumna while asleep. With the
death of Duryodhana perished all the male members of his large
family except his old and blind father. The Pandavas emerged
victorious, but besides the five Pandava brothers, Satyaki was the
sole survivor on their side. Thus the victory, though complete,
was won at a very high cost.

The Kuru line being extinct with the death of the hundred sons
of Dhritarashtra, Yudhishthira became king of the Kurus and ruled
at Hastinapura. Later on Yudhishthira performed a horse-sacrifice
on Vyasa’s advice in order to purge himself of all sins.. Arjuna was

307

THE VEDIC AGE

placed in charge of the horse and the sacrifice was completed with
due ceremonial. Dhfitarash(ra retired to forest with Gandh&ri
after a few years and was consumed in a forest conflagration. Yu-
dhish^hira, however, did not reign long. Some years after the
Bharata War, the Vpishnis and Yadavas of Gujarat perished in
fratricidal strife and Krishna died. Arjuna was sent to bring the
survivors of the Yadavas, but on his way back he was attacked and
defeated by the Abhiras. Arjuna returned to Hastinapura with
Krishna’s grandson Vajra, and placed him at the head of the people
who followed him from Dvaraka. Thereafter Yudhish{hira abdi¬
cated and retired to the forest along with his brothers, placing
Parikshit, Arj una’s grandson, on the throne.

The accession of Parikshit marks the beginning of the Kali
Age, as the Dvapara Age is said to have closed with the Bharata War.
In the Puranic accounts also “the past” ended, and “the future”
began, at the close of the Bharata War which was an epoch-making
event in the annals of the country. The dynasties of the Kali Age
in the Puranas begin with the accession of Parikshit, though some
begin their accounts after Adhislmakpishna, fourth in descent from
Parikshit.46

The traditional accounts do not state how the family feud in the
Kuru family was turned into an all-India affair, so that every ruling
dynasty of any note during the period, howsoever far from Kuru-
kshetra, is represented as having participated in the war. The non¬
mention of the Bharata War in later Vedic Literature does not
necessarily disprove its historicity. For one thing, it was a purely
political contest, and hence naturally did not interest the authors
of the Brdhmanas.A& An argumentum ex s ilentio is seldom don-
clusive. Again the Pa^dus, according to traditions, were not a body
of strangers, but were scions of the Kuru family. The very signifi¬
cance of the term Pa^avas, as distinct from the Kauravas, was
forgotten soon after the war, and the term Kurus alone survived.
Though the Mahabharata, in its present form, is a late production,
the kernel of the story takes us back to the period between 1400
and 1000 B.C. when, as noted above, the battle was probably fought.
The Asvaldyana Grihya-sutra (III. 4. 4) refers to the Bhajrata and
Mahabharata, and Sdnkh&yana Srauta-sutra (XV. 16), to the disas¬
trous war of the Kauravas. Pacini refers to the heroes of the
Bharata War as already objects of worship. All these clearly prove
the antiquity of the story of the Mahabharata .

II. COMPARATIVE VALUE OF THE VEDAS AND THE

PURANAS AS SOURCES OF TRADITIONAL HISTORY

There is a difference of opinion among scholars as to the com¬
parative value of the Vedic texts and the Puranas in regard to the
historical data supplied by them. Keith is excessively sceptical

308

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST TIME

about the historical value of the Puranas and is doubtful regarding
the historicity of any event which is not explicitly mentioned in
the Rigveda. Pargiter goes to the other extreme and gives more
weight to the Puranic tradition than to the Vedic evidence, which
he styles as the tradition of the Brahmapas who possessed no
historical sense. The so-called Kshatriya tradition, however, is
hardly an unpolluted source of history. Priority of date and com¬
parative freedom from textual corruption are doubtless two strong
points in favour of Vedic texts. The evidence of the Puranas, on
the other hand, cannot be ruled out altogether, because despite a
good deal of what is untrustworthy in them, they alone contain
something like a continuous historical narrative, and it is absurd
to suppose that the elaborate royal genealogies were all merely
figments of imagination or a tissue of falsehoods.

But the theory which pronounces the Puranas as representing
Kshatriya tradition as distinct from, and superior to, the Brahmajia
tradition contained in the Vedic texts, does not appear to be correct.
The theory is mainly based on two assumptions: (1) that the heroes
of the legends and stories in the Puranas are Kshatriya kings who
mostly do not figure in Vedic literature, and (2) the transmission
of their history was entrusted to Sutas of Kshatriya origin. There
is hardly any foundation for these beliefs. The Suta was not a
non-Brahmajja but a venerable sage. As regards the so-called
Kshatriya traditions, there have never been in India two such water¬
tight compartments as the Brahmana tradition and the Kshatriya
tradition. Even in the works distinctly assigned to Kshatriya tra¬
dition by Pargiter, we find the glorification of the Brahmaiias, and
the so-called Brahmanic literature abounds in Kshatriya legends.
The Puranas themselves assign a comparatively small portion to
genealogical accounts, the genuine Kshatriya tradition according to
Pargiter; their main bulk deals with Vedic and Brahmanic lore.
Moreover, the Puranas follow the Vedic religion and take pride in
styling themselves as the “fifth Veda.” The earliest reference to
the Puranas, as observed by Keith, is for a point of Brahmanical
lore and not for a point of genealogy or history.47 Again, even
according to Pargiter, the Puranas, as we have them now, are un¬
deniably a Brahmanic compilation; so no part of it can be distin¬
guished as Brahmanic or Kshatriya tradition.48 It would perhaps
be more correct to say that these are not two distinct sets of tradition,
but both are Brahmanical traditions, though produced under different
environments and with different aims and objects.

Moreover, it may be observed that there is no irreconcilable
contradiction or conflict between the Vedic texts and the Puranas.
The Rigveda, as we have it, is a Kuru-Panchala product; naturally,
therefore, the kings belonging to those clans play prominent roles in
it, and others find but incidental mention. Kings, who are men-

309

V.A.—

THE VEDIC AGE

tioned in the Vedic texts but are not found in the Puranic traditions,
were possibly princes and chieftains of smaller dynasties, not pre¬
served in the dynastic lists in the Puraijias. There is also the pos¬
sibility of the same person being referred to under different names
in the two sets of traditional accounts. Some of the kings mentioned
in the ftigveda can be fitted in the gaps in the Puranic lists. The
ftigveda , no doubt, offers the proper corrective to the Puranic lists,
but, when we find Puranic accounts to be corroborated by the Vedic
evidence, it is legitimate to take their testimony as valid even
in matters on which the ftigveda is silent. The proper procedure
for the writing of traditional history is to take into account the
joint testimony of the Vedic and Puranic texts wherever available,
and to try to bring harmony into the apparently conflicting texts.
The evidence of the Puraoas in these matters needs very careful
consideration.

A critical examination of the Puranic texts and Vedic literature
reveals the fact that the Puranic genealogies in some causes refer to
the same persons figuring in the Vedic literature. The Puranic
data about some of the royal dynasties, kings, and Brahma^a families
find confirmation in Vedic literature, and there is no basis for the
view that there are hardly any points of contact between the Vedic
and Puranic traditions. Here we shall briefly refer to the important
persons who appear in both Vsdic literature and the Puranas.

The ftigveda mentions Yayati as an ancient sacrificer and a son
of Nahusha, and he is also known as a seer of some hymns. But
his connection with the Lunar dynasty or with Puru, Anu, Druhyu,
Yadu, and Turvasu, as told in the Puranas and Mahabhdrata, is not
x’ound in the Vedic texts, and hence Macdonell and Keith condemn
the epic tradition as “inaccurate.”49

The names of the above five sons of Yayati, however, occur in
the Rigveda as those of ancient tribes. The word Yadu occurs
several times in the ftigveda as the name of a king and his tribe.
He is closely associated with Turvaia and once with Druhyu, Anu,
and Puru. The Mahdbhdrata and the Puranas indicate this associa¬
tion by making Turvasu the full brother of Yadu, and Anu, Druhyu
and Puru, his step-brothers. The ftigveda also indicates the close
connection of Yadu and Turvasa with north-western India. The
five tribes Yadus, Turvaias, Anus, Druhyus, and Purus represent,
according to one view, the Vedic Panchajanas. The Rigveda or
Vedic literature does not corroborate the Puranic relationship of
Yayati, son of Nahusha, with these five princes, though Yayati, the
son of Nahusha, as noted already, is well known to Vedic texts.
The Purus appear in the Rigveda as the enemies of Sudas and they
dwelt on the Sarasvati. It appears from the Rigveda that the Purus
had sometimes friendly and sometimes inimical relations with the
Tritsus to whom Sud is belonged. There is nothing to show any

310

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST TIME

connection between Vedic Puru or Purukutsa and Puranic Puru,
son of Yayati.

The Solar king Mandhatj-i appears to have been referred tp as
Mandhatfi Yauvanasva in the Gopatha Brahmaiia, the identity being
further strengthened by the fact of both being the sons of Yuva-
nasva.-0

The interpretation of the famous Dasarajna (battle of ten kings)
of the Rigveda in traditional history supplies us with many interest¬
ing and important synchronisms, and the importance of the problem
demands treatment at some length.

We have already seen that Mudgala, the eldest of the five
Panchalas, was the founder of the main branch of the north Pan¬
chalas, and among his descendants were VadhryaSva, Divodasa,
Mitrayu, Maitreya Soma, Srinjaya, Chyavana Panchajana, and Su¬
dasa or Somadatta. There is no consistency among the different
texts with regard to these names, Sudasa being in some Puranas
replaced by Somadatta. Despite these difficulties, Pargiter and other
scholars identify Divodasa and Sudasa in these lists with their
namesakes in the Rigveda and see in the account of Samvarana in
the Mahabharata 51 the reference to the battle of ten kings in the
Rigveda which resulted in the defeat of the Puru king.

Pargiter points out that Mudgala, Vadhryasva, Divodasa, and
Srinjaya are mentioned in the Rigveda hymns. Chyavana is probably
meant in one hymn and his other name Panchajana is no doubt a
misreading of Pijavana. Sudasa is called Sudas Paijavana. The
Aitareya Brahmana says that Sahadeva was descended from Srinjaya,
and one hymn (RV, IV. 15. 7-10) says that Somaka was his son.
The hymns agree with the genealogies in all these particulars.
Chyavana was a great warrior and his son Sudasa extended his
dominions. They probably conquered the Dvimidha dynasty and
the south Panchalas, as there appear to be gaps in the genealogical
lists of these dynasties at this period.52

According to Pargiter, “Sudas drove the Paurava king Sam¬
varana of Hastinapura out, defeating him on the Jumna. His conquests
stirred up a confederacy of the neighbouring kings to resist him—
Puru (Samvarana), the Yadava (the Yadava king of Mathura), the
Sivas (Sivis. who were Anavas), Druhyus (of Gandhara), Matsyas
(west of Surasena), Turvasa (the Turvasu prince, apparently in
Rewa) and other smaller states. Sudas defeated them in a great
battle near the ParushnI (Ravi), and Puru (Samvarana) took refuge
in a fortress near the Sindhu (Indus) many years/’53

It may be stated at the outset that despite many differences
between the Vedic account on the one hand and that given in the
Mahobhdrata on the other, it is undisputed that the heroes of the
Dasarajna flourished at the period which has been assigned to
Sudasa-Somadatta of the north Panchala line and to Samvarana

311

THE VEDIC AGE

and Kuru of the Paurava line. Dr. Pradhan has arrived at the
same conclusion of the identity of Vedic Sudas with the Pahchala
Sudasa after independent enquiry starting on different synchrp-
nisms.b4 It has also been shown that Kuru and Samvarajrta were
contemporaries of Tura Kavasheya whose father Kavasha Ailusha
figured in the Dasarajiia: :~G The discrepancies that we notice in
the Vedic account and the accounts in the Puranas and the Maha-
bhdrata only show that traditional history, though based on a
kernel of historical facts, is not only not infallible but inaccurate
at times, and its credibility requires to be tested in the light of
contemporary Vedic evidence. The details of the Dasarajiia as
given in the Rigveda no doubt are a first-hand contemporary ac¬
count. The accounts in* traditional history were pieced together
out of the remnants of ancient tales, legends, etc. at a later date
when memories of actual events were but faint and inaccurate.

Now, apart from the fact that the geographical boundaries do
not concur in the Vedic and Puranic accounts (as will be shown
presently), it will be seen that there are many particulars that
apparently speak against the proposed identification. In the first
place, though the Rigveda mentions Mudgala and Srinjaya, it does
not indicate any relationship between them and Sudas. Secondly,
the Hig vedic Sudas is distinctly called the son of Pijavana whereas
the Puranic Sudasa had Chyavana-Panchajana for his father. Yaska.
Mahabharata and Manu know Pijavana to be the father of Sudas,
and hence the Puranas cannot be said to have mistaken Panchajana
for Pijavana as suggested by Pargiter.-6 It seems that the title Pan-
chajana has been given to Sudasa in his capacity as the leader of
the five tribes. Further discrepancies are found in the non-mention
in the Rigveda of the important tribes of the period according to
the Puranas such as the Satvatas, the Bhojas, the Videhas, the
Ikshvakus, etc., either among the allies or among the adversaries
of Sudas. Among the tribes mentioned in the Rigveda as participat¬
ing in the Dasarajiia , Turvasas, according to traditional history, had
long ceased to exist, having merged in the Pauravas. The Tritsus,
who were the principal helpers of Sudas according to the Rigveda.
are not to be found at all in the Puranic tradition. Matsyas, one of
the opponents of Sudas in the Rigveda , emerge in traditional history
only nine generations after Sudasa. The Puru adversary of Sudas
has been named Purukutsa in the Rigveda whereas according to
traditional history he comes to be Saihvarana of the Pauravas. It
is further curious that the Mahabharata does not mention Sudasa
by name at all, but refers to him only as Panchalya (a king of the
Panchalas). The scene of the battle has not been mentioned in the
Mahabharata or the Puranic texts. The Rigveda represents the
battle to have been fought on the banks of the Parushni. This loca¬
tion of the conflict, however, seems to be most difficult, if not quite

312

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST TIME

impossible, if we consider the territories occupied by the different
members of the confederacy at the period, according to traditional
history. The Druhyus were occupying Gandhara at the time, and
it is difficult to see how they could be interested in or affected by
the conflicts of people far away from them. The Turvasas, as already
stated, did not exist at the time; and even if they did exist, as sug¬
gested by Pargiter, it is difficult to comprehend how they marched
off over 500 miles from the Karusha country to participate in the
exploits of a remote king. The geographical knowledge of the
period of the Rigveda (as seen in Ch. XIII) did not extend much
beyond the Ganges and Jumna or Sarayu to the east, and only up to
the Vindhyas in the south; but the period of Sudasa in traditional
history, which comes after that of Dasaratha and Rama, indicates
knowledge of practically the whole of India. The truth under¬
lying these discrepancies between the Vedic and the Puranic and
Mahabharata accounts seems to be that the Puranic tradition “is
patching up its genealogical fabric from whatever shreds of floating
knowledge it ccmes across without any means of checking. f*&7 .This
does not certainly mean that the Vedic and the Puranic Sudasa were
quite distinct personalities. When we take into consideration that
the Vedic and traditional accounts agree admirably with regard to
the chronology of the period of the conflict, it appears certain that
the similarity of names is not a mere coincidence. There are serious
discrepancies, no doubt, when we come to the locations and political
environments of the different participants in the conflict. But the
mistake is due to the lack of definite knowledge on the part of
chroniclers of traditional history. It may also be observed that the
Mahabharata account simply refers to the driving out of the Paurava
king Sam vara^a from his kingdom by the king of the Panchalas.
At the distance of time between the Ddsarajna and the composition
of the Mahabharata f the chroniclers remembered only the utter
rout of the Paurava king at the hands of a Panchala king.

Another important problem is the identity of Janamejaya
Parikshita mentioned in the Vedic texts and in the Puraa>as and the
Mahabharata . The Puranas and the Mahabharata refer to two Jana¬
mejaya Parikshitas, one an ancestor of the Pa^avas (being grand¬
son of Kuru), and the second, a successor of the Ba$davas (grandson
of Arjuna).

On account the similarity of patronymic as also of the names
of his brothers, the earlier Janamejaya is confused with the later
Janamejaya and there has been transference of tradition.

The Aitareya and the Satapatha Brahmana enumerate Jana¬
mejaya as the performer of the Asvamedha sacrifice.'58 The very
fact that Bhishma narrates the story of Janamejaya ’s Aivamedha to
Yudhishjhira as an ancient legend clearly shows that the A£vamedha
referred to was performed by the ancestor of the Pagdavas, and

313

THE VEDIC AGE

proves that a Janamejaya Parikshita before the Pai^davas’ time was
a real person and not a shadowy figure as Dr. Raychaudhuri would
have us believe.6,0 The descendant of the Paodavas is credited with
the performance of the Sarpasatra and not an Asvamedha. The
ASvaftiedha started by the later Janamejaya was not completed.60
The Brahmanas further mention Tura Kavasheya as the priest who
anointed Janamejaya with Aindra Mahabhisheka, and Tura Kava¬
sheya can be proved to be contemporaneous with Janamejaya the
ancestor of the Pandavas. Kavasha Ailusha, father or grandfather
of Tura, was drowned in the Dafarajna, so that he was a senior
contemporary of Kuru, son of Samvaraija, who lived during the
Ddiarajna period.61 Janamejaya, who was the grandson of Kuru,
was thus contemporaneous with Tura. This sacrifice, with Tura
Kavasheya as priest, was performed for celebrating the attainment
of imperial status by Janamejaya and not for atonement of any sin.
The Satapatha Brahmana refers to another sacrifice performed by
Janamejaya Parikshita with the aid of Indrota Daivapa Saunaka for
ridding himself of a grievous sin which is described as Brahmahatya
(killing of a Brahmana).62 The Puranas and the Mahabhdrata do
not associate Janamejaya, the descendant of the Pandavas, with
any guilt. That the ancestor was the person alluded to is clear
from the fact that the story of the sin of Janamejaya is told by
Bhishma, and therein Janamejaya is accused of unwittingly killing
a Brahmana.63 This also proves that Indrota Daivapa Saunaka
flourished generations before the Bharata War. The Harivawia
refers to Janamejaya’s killing the son of Gargya for insulting him,
as the result of which Gargya cursed him.64 The Asvamedha per¬
formed by Indrota Daivapa Saunaka was to purge Janamejaya of
this sin. The incident of the chariot of Yayati related in the same
story, which states that the chariot continued in the Paurava line
till the period of Janamejaya, and after him was transferred to
Vasu Chaidyoparichara, eighth descendant from Kuru, clearly shows
that the reference in the story is to the ancestor of the Pandavas.
The chariot then passed on to the Magadhas and came to Krishna
after Jarasandha was killed.65 All these preceded Janamejaya
Parikshita, the descendant of the Pandavas, and hence the allusions
clearly refer to the ancestor of the Pandavas. The HarivamSa clearly
indicates that the Aivamedha story relates to the earlier Janame¬
jaya by making Janamejaya (the descendant of the Pandavas) the
auditor of the story which is told by VaiSampayana, who adds that
there were two Janamejaya Parikshitas among the Pauravas.66

The references in the Vedic texts thus clearly prove the existence
of a Janamejaya Parikshita who was an ancestor of the Pai>davas,
and the grandson of Kuru. The peace and plenty in the Kuru
realm, alluded to in the Atharvaveda 67 and in the Brahmanas,
came as the result of Kuru's extensive conquests, and his son

314

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST TIME

Parikshit and grandson Janamejaya continued the good work started
by Kuru. Janamejaya’s heinous crime, however, deprived him and
his successors of their kingdom which passed on to the younger
branch (as already stated) and the Pankshitas suffered extinction.
The Bii^nddranyaka ZJpanishad refers to the vanished glory of the
Parlkshitas and enquiries as to their state in the next world.68 To
that the reply is given that they must have attained the state to
which performers of Asvamedha sacrifices are eligible.

These and other co-ordinations of the incidents and persons
mentioned in traditional history and the Vedic texts clearly show
that the two traditions are neither independent nor contradictory;
that the traditional history has its basis in facts and is not the
product of imagination; that traditional history has mostly preserved
ancient tradition; and that when supported by Vedic texts its
evidence is unimpeachable. No excuse is therefore needed for the
somewhat long historical account, given above, on the basis of
Epic and Puranic tradition. It has been customary for the writers
of Indian history to confine themselves, so far as the political
history of the period is concerned, to the few isolated facts gleaned
from the Vedic texts. But we must not forget that “the Vedic lite¬
rature confines itself to religious subjects and notices political and
secular occurrences only incidentally so far as they had a bearing
on the religious subjects.” As Pargiter has very pertinently ob¬
served: “Ancient Indian history has been fashioned out of com¬
positions, which are purely religious and priestly, which notoriously
do not deal with history, and which totally lack the historical sense.
The extraordinary nature of such history may be perceived, if it
were suggested that European history should be constructed merely
out of theological literature. What would raise a smile if applied
to Europe has been soberly accepted when applied to India.”60*

The force of these remarks is undeniable and no student of
Indian history should ignore the legendary element in the Puragas
and Epics. It is necessary to remember that, for reasons stated
above, we cannot accept those traditions as genuine historical facts
so long or so far as they are not corroborated by contemporary texts
or other reasonable evidence. Until then we can treat them only
as traditional history. But such traditional history has its value,
and is in any case a necessary preliminary step for the discovery of
genuine history.

12. THE EXPANSION OF THE ARYANS AND ARYAN

CULTURE

In one respect, however, it seems difficult to accept the tradi¬
tional account without a great deal of reserve. This is the geogra¬
phical background of the Aryan conquest of India as described in
the Puranas.

3!5

THE VEDIC AGE

The Purapas say nothing about the original home of the Aryans.
The scene of traditional history opens in India, with the division
of the territory, comprising the whole of North India extending in
the east up, to Orissa, among the ten sons of Manu, the king and the
common ancestor of the ruling families in India (ante, p. 278).

From this starting point, the traditional history enables us to
trace the progress of Aryan advance during the four Ages — Kyita,
Treta, Dvapara, and Kali. Kings Sagara, Kama, and Krishna are said
to have flourished respectively at the end of the Kpitaf Treta, and
Dvapara Ages, so that the Kpita Age covers roughly 40 generations,
Treta 25 generations, and Dvapara 30 generations (cf. App. II). The
Kali Age set in after the Bharata War.

By the end of the Krita Age, we find the Aryans in occupation
of the whole of North India including Sind and Kandahar in the
west, and Bihar and West Bengal in the east. In the south, Gujarat,
Kathiawar, the Western Coast south of Bombay and Berar were
colonized by the Aryans, and their southern limits had extended
beyond the Vindhya and the Narmada down to the Tapti and the
Satpuras.

While Parasurama is generally associated with the creation of
€urparaka near Bombay, a stanza in the Mahabharata shows that it
was colonized earlier by Jamadagni.69 Parasurama is credited with
the Aryanization of the whole of the western coast of Bombay,
especially the Konkan, the Karhata, the Tulava, and the Kerala.
The traditions, at any rate; indicate the important role played by
the Bhargavas in the colonization of the Deccan.

The Aryan occupation during the Treta Age extended further
east and south, embracing, in addition to the territories occupied in
the Krita Age, Orissa, Assam, Chhota Nagpur, Central Provinces,
and some parts further south. The southern territories of Jana-
S'thana, Kishkindha, and also Lanka came under the sphere of Aryan
influence during the days of Rama.

By the time of the Bharata War (c. 1400 B.C.) which marked
the close of the Dvapara Age, the Aryans had expanded over the
whole of India, and even beyond its frontiers in the west.

This traditional account of the Aryan expansion is, however,
in conflict with the evidence of the Vedic texts. As has already been
shown in Ch. XHI, there are good grounds to suppose that by the
time the Rigveda was composed, the Aryans had not penetrated
much further into the interior beyond the frontiers of the Punjab
and Raj pu tana. If we remember that the Rigveda did not pro¬
bably receive its final form long before the end of the so-called
Dvanara Age. its testimony is decidedly fatal to the geographical
views assumed in the Puranas.

But the Rigvedic evidence does not stand alone. We have an
account of the spread of the Aryan culture in the Brahmans period

316

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST TIME

in the story of Videgha Mathava (ante, p. 258-59). This, as well as
the fact that Kosala and Videha do not appear in the earlier Vedic
literature, but are mentioned for the first time in the &atapatha
Brahmana, and the contemptuous references in the Atharvaveda and
the Sutras indicate that M^gadha and Vahga were then outside
the pale of Aryan culture. All these leave no doubt about the
general correctness of the assumption that the Aryans had not ad¬
vanced beyond the middle region of Northern India till after the
end of the age represented by the Vedic Samhitas, i.e. at a time
when most, if not all, the traditional royal dynasties dealt with in
this chapter had ceased to exist.

It is worthy of note that even the Smjiti texts quote verses de¬
fining Aryavarta or the land of the Aryas as co-extensive with
Northern India. As to the expansion of the Aryan culture to the
Deccan and South India, the evidence of Banini’s Ash^ddhyayi and
Katy ay ana’s Vartikas on Panini, seems to be fairly conclusive. The
only country in the Deccan south of the Narmada mentioned by
Panini is Asmaka, whereas Katyayana knows Pnadya, Chola, and
Kerala. This shows that the Aryans came into contact with these
South Indian peoples during the time intervening between Paiiini
and Katyayana, i.e. some time between the sixth and fourth cen¬
turies B.C.69a Yet the Puranas and the Ramayana would have us
believe that the whole of South India, including Ceylon, was coloniz¬
ed by the Aryans or brought under their sphere of influence by the
time of Ramachandra in the Treta Age!

It is impossible to rely upon the traditional account as recorded
in the Epics and Puranic texts, at least in respect of those particulars
which are so flatly contradicted by the evidence of earlier texts —
an evidence which is all the more valuable as it is based upon
incidental notices not likely to be fabricated in order to serve any
preconceived notion. Whatever we might think therefore of the
kings and dynasties mentioned in the traditional account, we can
hardly accept, without* demur, the location of their principalities as
described in the Epics and the Puranas.

It might be argued that many of the royal dynasties mentioned
in the traditional account were not Aryans. This is not unlikely,
for evidence is gradually accumulating (c/. Chs. VUI, IX) that a
fairly developed culture and powerful kingdoms flourished in India
before the Aryans. But such a theory goes definitely against the
traditional account which represents all ruling families, described
above, as descended from the common ancestor Manu.70

At the same time the existence of non-Aryans may be easily
inferred. For besides the descendants of Manu who established
dynasties all over India, traditional history mentions Rakshasas,
Vanaras, Asuras, Daityas, Danavas, Nagas, Nishadas, Dasyus, Dasas
Pulindas, Sakas. Yavanas. Kambojas. Paradas, Pahlavas. etc. who

317

THE VEDIC AGE

appear to have been outside the Aryan fold- The Rakshasas were
aborigines who were hostile to the Brahmanas, while Vanaras, another
aboriginal tribe, were allied to the Brahmanas. Asuras, Daityas,
Danavas, and Nagas denoted peoples of different cultures in various
stages of civilization ranging from the rude, aboriginal, uncivilized
tribes to the semi-civilized races, offering strong resistance to the
spread of Aryan culture. There appear to have been three stages
in the description of the hostile tribes of Asuras, Danavas, Daityas,
and Rakshasas in Puranic accounts. Originally, these denoted
human beings, but as they were generally the enemies of the Aryans,
these names came to mean alien and hated, hostile or savage men.
Later on, these names became terms of opprobrium and abuse which
led to the attribution of evil character to these peoples. Even
certain Aryan kings were termed Danavas or Asuras due to their
evil character. Finally, these terms came to be associated with
demoniac beings and were used synonymously with demons. The
Nagas appear to be partially civilized people. The Nishadas, Das as,
Dasyus, Pulindas, and Kiratas were mostly aboriginal, rude, savage
tribes in a very primitive stage of civilization. All these tribes lived
in hilly tracts, and some of them were cannibals. The Nishadas, also
known as Mlechchhas, were according to ancient traditional views
a mixed race of Aryan origin bom from a Brahmana male and a
&udra female.71 They are associated with the hills of Central
India and the Vindhyan tracts. They had also settlements in the
Vatsabhumi and, further east, near Allahabad. The Pulindas, £a-
baras, Mutibas, etc. were the aboriginal tribes of the south. The
Pulindas were connected with the north also. The Kiratas had
settlements in Assam and Nepal. The £akas, Yavanas, .Kambojas,
Paradas, Pahlavas, etc. were foreign tribes from the west, but they
were evidently absorbed among the Kshatriyas. Pandya, Chola,
and Kerala dynasties in the south claimed descent from the Lunar
Turvasus.

But whatever we might think of the geographical and ethnical
background of the traditional account, it perhaps reflects more ac¬
curately the method and process of Aryan colonization in India.
One distinguishing feature of the Aryan expansion, as described in
it, deserves special mention. The Aryans extended their sway and
colonized fresh lands not by conquest alone with the aid of big
armies. The colonization was also effected by small bands of ad¬
venturous Brahmanas and Kshatriyas from different Aryan king¬
doms, who went to new countries and, after clearing the jungles and
making the tracts habitable, set up hermitages and residences there.
The territories surrounding the Aryan-occupied Madhyadeia, the
Vindhyas and Vidarbha, were colonized in this fashion. The Aryans
colonized under the leadership of Kshatriya tribes, and new settle¬
ments were named after these tribes. The speed of Aryan ex-

31*

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST TIME

pansion was necessarily slow where they received opposition from
the aborigines or semi- Aryans or non- Aryans, as in the case of their
eastward progress.

Hama of Ayodhya is made to play a very important part in the
expansion of Aryan cultnjre in the south. It was probably on
account of the signal service attributed to him in colonizing the
Deccan, and spreading the Aryan religion far in the south and ren¬
dering it free from the harassment of aggressive and semi-barbarous
tribes, that he has been included among the incarnations of the god
Vishnu. This expansion of Aryan culture in the south was the result
of the hearty co-operation of the Brahmana and the Kshatriya in
carrying the banner of Aryanization. The Brahmana missionaries
who accompanied the Kshatriya conquerors, introduced the essen¬
tials of Aryan culture and tradition to the masses, converted the
principal figures, and paved the way for social and cultural contact
by allowing high-born Aryans to marry with non-Aryans. Agastya,
the pioneer among the Rishis to erect a hermitage in the trans-
Vindhyan regions, preceded Hama by generations; but he payed
the way for later adventurers. The story of Agastya *eveals the
important part played by the Brahmans in the spread of Aryan
civilization over southern India. The ancient Rishis undertook
missionary enterprise and helped in the propagation and diffusion
of the Aryan culture by their active efforts, often at considerable
risk to their lives. They moved in large numbers to distant lands,
and performed sacrifices and observed religious rites in their new
settlements. Their genuine missionary spirit, coupled with their
peaceful character, not using any force nor resorting to retaliation
despite provocation, helped in creating a favourable atmosphere for
the reception of the Aryan religion. The Rishis mixed with the
aborigines and civilized them. The Aryan spirit was kept alive by
the Brahmaiia, not by the Kshatriya; but, “ without the protection
of the chief, the Brahmana was powerless; and it was not the Brah-
ma^a’s peaceful penetration, but the military exploits of the chief
that enthralled the popular imagination.”72 Rama's expedition, as
described in the Ramayana, did not put the non-Aryans of the south
under the political subjugation of the Aryans, but it brought the
southern territories of the Vanaras and Rakshasas as protectorates
under the sphere of Aryan influence,73 and was mainly responsible
for bringing these peoples under Aryan influence.

The contribution of the Yadavas in carrying the banner of
Aryan culture over large tracts of land in the south-west and in
Rajputana, Gujarat, Malwa, and the Deccan, which came under
their occupation, needs special mention. It was due to the activities
of the Yadavas that these regions were brought under the Aryan way
of life. The peculiar feature in the career of the Yadavas is the
considerable mixture they had with the non-Aryans, though they

319

THE VED1C AGE

trace their descent from Pururavas through Yadu. This fact coupl¬
ed with the possible looseness in the observance of the Aryan
Dharma led the Epics and Puraijas to call the Yadava branches
Asuras, and to class them with the tribes of the extreme north-west
and west among the Nichyas and Apachyas. The fact that they
mixed freely with the Non- Aryans, with whom they had marital
relations and some of whose customs they incorporated, facilitated
the Aryanization of the so-called outsiders, and thus spread Aryan
culture far and wide. Krishna of the Yadavas, well known as a
politician, warrior, and religious teacher, was a national hero, who
was regarded as an incarnation of Vishnu. He held liberal and
catholic views and his doctrines helped in the spread of Aryan ideas
among the so-called Sudras.

Whatever we might think of the historicity of Rama and Krishna,
as depicted in the above accounts, they may not unreasonably be
regarded as true types of Aryan heroes who were pioneers in the
spread of Aryan culture and colonization all over India.

GENERAL REFERENCES

KIRFEL, Wj Das Purdna Pancalaksana. Bonn, 1927.

PARGITER, F. E.: Ancient Indian Historical Tradition. London, 1922.
RANGACHARYA, V.: Pre-Musalman India, vol. II. “Vcdic Indie,” Port I. Madras,
1937.

1. AIHT, pp. 30, 54.

la. Some, however, do not attach any historical value to the story of the Ramdyana
cf. e.g. Ch. Vm, above, p. 168..

lb. El, VI, pp. 11, 12.

2. JRAS , 1911, pp. 479 ff., 675 ff.

3. Brihat-Samhitd, Xlll. 3; Rdjatarangim. I. 48-56.

4. Rid, PIHC, IV. p. 115 (3140 B.C.); Triveda, JIH, XVI. iii (3137 B.C.); Vaidya,
HSL, IV. pp. 4-8 (3102 B.C.); Abhyankar, ABORI , XXV. pp. 116-36 ( 3000 B.C.):
Sen Gupta, JRASB(L ), III. 101 ff.; IV. 393 f. (2449 B.O.); Karandikar, POC
XU. Summaries Part II, pp. 6-8 (1931 B.C.); Deb, JASB , XXI.. pp. 211-20
(1400 B.C.); Daftary, POC, XII. Summaries Part II, pp. 8-12 (1197 B.C.);
Pradhan, CAI, pp. 262-9 (1151 B.C.).

5. AIHT , pp. 179-83.

6. Cf. AIHT, p. 179; DKA, pp. 13-22; 67-9; 58, 74.

6a. Woolley, Ur of the Chaldees (Pelican), pp. 23-4.

7. Vdyu P., 21. 28; 8. 160-7; 57. 39-41, 56.

8. Mbh, XU. 59. 106-8.

9. J$ot. Br. I. 8. 1. 1-6; cf. SBE, XU. pp. 216-8, Mbh (Cv. Ed.) IU. 185; Matsya, P.,
1. 11-34; 2. 1-19; Bhdgavata P., VUI. 24 ff., IX. 1 ff.

10. AIHT , p. 84, n. 2.

11. JRAS, 1902, pp. 267-8; Majumdar, CAG, pp. 507-8; Dey, GD, p. 17.

12. Pratishthana has been identified with Pihan, a village near Prayaga (Allaha¬
bad) — Jayachandra, B1R, pp. 128-9.

12a. For the Rigvedic hymn on the subject, cf. Ch. XVI.

13. Mbh (Cr. Ed.), m. 176-8; (Bom. Ed.), XUI. 99-100.

14. AIHT, p. 259, fn. 7.

15. £ravasti has been identified with modem Sahet Mahet on the Rapfi in the
district of Gonda in Oudh (Dey, GD, p. 189). Cf. also Majumdar, CAG , p. 469.

16. Tribes in Ancient India, p. 121.

17. AIHT, pp. 260-1.

18. Padma P., VI. 189. 73; 273. 51-70; Brahma P.. 196. 16-197. 5; Vishnu P., V.
23.. 26-24. 5; Hcri, H. 57. 43-63.

19. Mbh, XU. 339. 84, 103-4; cf. Sukthankar, ABORI, XVIII. p. 48.

20. Mbh, XU. 49. 76-83;

21. In the Nava Kdl (Mara pi I Daily of Bombay) in the year 1932-3.

22. Matsya P., 43 . 48-9; Vdyu P., 94.51-2; Kirfel, PPL, p. 420.50.

320

APPENDIX I : Development of different dynasties

Manu Vaivasvata

Ikshvaku

Nabhaga Dhjishta

~~T~

Sarytti

Narlahyanta Praihsu

Nabhanedlshtha Karusha PHshadhra I la (aiarr. Budha) Sudvumnu

Vikukshi-Sasada Nimi Rathitaras Dharsh(akas Aaryita* in Anarta

Vaisali dynasty Karuahas excluded

Pururavaa

Yadu

Sahasrajit

Haibayas

Vaidarbhas

Satvatas

Saudyumruis

Ayu

I - 1 - T"

Nahuaha Kahatravriddha Ramhha

Amgvasu

Yati

Yayatii Kasi dynasty

Raji

Ananas Kanyakubja dynasty

Turvasu

- 1

Kroshfri Turvasus

Rajeya Kahatriyaa Kafaatradharmans

Druhyu

Druhyus in Gandhara

Anu

Anavas

Yftdavas

Vitihotras Sarvntas Bhojas Avantis Tundikeras Vaidarbhas

Uatnara

Tltikahu

Puru

Pauiavu>

Bharatas

i i i i i r

Wriga Nava Krimi Suvrata Albi Angas Vang as Kalihgas Pupdras Suhmas Ajamldhas

T - i — T

Chedis Ya

I I

udheyas ldngs of Lords of

Amba-

Navarfshtra Kyimila shfhas

Vriahadarbha

Sauvira

Andhaka-Bhojas Bhojas of
Mrittikavata

Vfiibnis Vrishadarbhas Sauvtras

Kekaya

Kekayaa or
Kafka yas

Madraka

Bharatas

Kurus or Kauravas

Dvimldhas

N. Panchala

S. Panr-li4ln

I -

StfBJayas

Somakas

Madras or Kurus or
Madrakas Kauravas

Vkaavas

Kukuras (Mathura)

Andhakas

Kauravas Panjavas Barhadrathas Chedis Karuaha Kauswnbi Matsyi (?)

APPENDIX II : Genealogical Tables

Ayodhya

Vi delta

VaiaAli

Yiidavas

Haihayas

Druhyus

c. 3100 B.c.

Manu

• »

Ikshvaku

Nabhanedishtbu

Ila

Vikukshi-Sasada

Niini

Pururavas

Kakutstha

Ayu

Mithi-Janaka

Bholandana

Nahusha

«, 3000 a.c.

Yayati

Yadu

Druhyu

Kroshtri

Sahasrajit

Kuvalasvn

Haihaya

lit

Chitraratha

Yuvanasva 11

c. 2750 ii. c.

-’1

Mandhatri

Purukutvo

Trasadasyu

Mahishmant

Gandharn

Bhadrasrepya

;

21*

Trayyaruna

Kriiavirya

Arjuna

Satyavrnta-Trnsajiku
Haris chiindra

Jayadhvaja

Rohitu

Talajahgha

Vitihotra

Kaiandhama

31*

Bahu

Avlkshlt

Chedi

Sagaru

Marutta

Vidarbha

4 J

Kratha-Bhima

Kaisika

Chidi-

Turvasus

Turvasu

Kaiandhama

Marutta

(Dushyanta)

Anavas

Anavas, E. / Anavas. N. W.

Anu

Tiukshu

Usinara

Sibi

Kekaya

Pautavas

Manu

Puriirnvas

Puru

Janamejaya

Mathura

K*i i

Nahusha

Kshatravriddha

K&nyakuojo

Pururavas

AmavJuu

Jahnu

Kuaika

Gadhi

VJsvimiUa
A ah taka

8
12
14
10
20
21
22
23

26
«7

34
30

Bali

Anga

Dushyanat

Divodasa

Pratardana

Vataa

Alarka

42
49

continued overleaf

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST TIME

23. Chedi comprised the land between the Chambal and the Ken on the southern
bank of the Jumna corresponding to modern BUndelkhand. Cf. Dey, GD, p. 48;
Majumdar, CAG, p. 725.

24. Kirfel, PPL , pp. 317-23.

25. Rohitapura has been identified with Rohtas in the district of Shahabad in
Bihar. Dey, GD, p. 170.

26. Vayu P., 88. 140-1.

27. Vayu P.. 88. 144-63; Brahma P.. 8. 52-71.

28. AIHT , p. 268.

29. The name Bhagirathl is applied to the stream which originates from Gangotri
and Gomukha, and joining Bhilangana at Tehri meets Alakananda, the main
stream of the Ganges, at Devaprayaga. Jayachandra, BIR, p. 150.

30. For the Nala episode, cf. Mhh (Cr. Ed.), HI. 50-78.

31. Mbh (Cr. Ed.), I. 166-73 gives another account.

32. Paudanya (Potana in Mbh , Cr. Ed., I. 168. 25) is the Potana or Potali of the
Jdtakas (Raychaudhuri, PHAI, p. 121). It has been identified with Paithan or
Pratishthana on the north bank cf the Godavari, 28 miles to the south of
Aurangabad— Dey, GD, pp. 157, 159.

33. For the account of Rama we have mainly relied on the Rdmdyana.

34. Ancient, settlements of Takshasila are found near the Bhir mound near Shah-
dheri which lies 20 miles north-west of Rawalpindi ( Marshall— Guide to Taxila).
Pushkaravati may be identified with Charsadda near the confluence of the
Kubha and Suvastu, 17 miles north-west of Peshawar.

35. North Panchala, called Ahichchhatra, comprised the modem Rohilkhand district
in the U.P., and had its capital at Ahichchatra identified with modem Ram-
nagar (Dey, GD, p. 2). South Panchala, which incorporated the old kingdom of
Xanyakubja, consisted of the districts of Agra and Cawnporc with its capitals
at Makandl and Kampilya (modem Kampil, 28 miles east of Fatehgarh — Dey,
GD, p. 88).

<6. The problem of the Ddsardjna (battle of ten kings) has been discussed in
section II of this chapter.

J7 . Mbh (Cr. Ed.), I, 89. 31-43.

38. AIHT, pp. 76, 281.

39. AIHT, p. 113, fn. 9.

40. Hari, I. 30. 10-14; Vayu P., 93. 21-26; Brahma P., 12. 9-15; Brahmanfa P., III.
68 . 20-26; also Mbh, XII. 150-52; cf. Arthasastra, Mysore, 1919, p. II.

41. Mbh (Cr. Ed.), I, 105. 7-22.

42. The life of Krishna has been reconstructed on the basis of the old and authentic
Puranas, the Harivarhsa and the Mahdbhdrata. — See Munshi, Glory that teas
Gurjaradesa , I. pp. 120-24.

43. Cf. Munshi, Glory that was Gurjaradesa, I, pp. 111-27.

44. The account of the Kauravas and the Pandavas has been based on the Mahv •
bhdrata. In spite of epic embellishments, the kernel of the story may be n.g. r V*.'
as historical.

4u. Similarly some Puranas begin the ‘’future” about a century after the B>*aia»o
War. (Pargiter, AlH'T, pp. 51-4.)

46 AIHT, pp. 283-4.

47. JRAS, 1914, p. 1027.

48. JRAS, 1913, p. 889.

49. Ved. Ind. H. p. 187.

50. Gopatha Brdhmana. 1.2. 10 ff; Ved. lad., II. p. 133.

51. Mbn (Cr. Ed.), I. 89. 31-43.

52. AIHT, p. 120.

53. AIHT, p. 281.

54. CAI, pp. 83-98.

55. BV, U. pp. 72-76.

56. Nirukta , II. 24. 25; Mbh, XII. 60. 39; Maau , VII. 41; Pargiter, AIHT, p. 120.

57. Ghurye, POC, IX. p. 950.

58. Ait. Br., VII. 27; VIII. 21; Sat. Br., XI. 5. 5. 13; XIII. 5. 4. 1-4.

59 Afbh. XII. 150. 2; PHA1, p. 12.

60. Hari, HI. 2.5-6, 28-9; 5.11-7.

61. Cf. BV, II. pp. 72-6.

62. Sat. Br., XIII. 5. 4. 1 ff.

63. Mbh, XH. 150. 3.

64. Hari, I. 30.

65. Hari, I. 30. 6-16.

66. Cf. Hari, I. 32. 100-1, 105.

67. AV, XX. 127. 7-10.

321

THE VEDIC AGE

OS. Bjih. Up, in. 3.

€fa. A1HT , p. v.

00. Mbh (Cr. Ed.), III. 86. 9.

69a. Cf. D. R. Bhandarkar — Carmichael Lectures, 1918, pp. 6-7.

70. Pargiter, however, infers from the traditional account that the kings belonged
to three different stocks or races of which the Ailas were the Aryans, the
Saudyumna stock, the Munda race and its branch the Mon-Khmer folk in the
east, and the Manva stock (i.e. the remaining descendants of Manu), the Dravi-
dians ( AIHT , p. 295). Traditional history associates the Ailas or the Lunar
dynasty with the Himalayas. Pargiter, therefore, interprets the traditional
accounts as stating that the Aryans came into India from the Himalayan regions
(ibid., pp. 297 ff.). But the term Aryan is not confined to the Ailas alone; it
comprises all the so-called stocks enumerated by Pargiter. There is absolutely
no differentiation between the Solar and the Lunar dynasties as regards status
or dignity.

71. Manu, X. 8.

72. Kennedy, JRAS, 1915, p. 516.

73. Cf. Viswanatha, International Law in Ancient India , pp. 25, 45; Racial synthesis in
Hindu, Culture , p. 9.

322

CHAPTER XV

FROM THE ACCESSION OF PARfKSHFT TO THE
END OF THE BARHADRATHA DYNASTY

The Puranas have preserved a list of the kingdoms that flourish¬
ed at the end of the Bharata War and continued till they were all
absorbed by the great Nanda empire of Magadha in the fourth cen¬
tury B.C. In addition to the kingdom of Magadha, ruled at first
by the Barhadrathas, and then by other dynasties, the Puranic list
refers to the Pauravas, Aikshvakus, Pahchalas, Kasis, Haihayas,
Kalihgas, Aimakas, Maithilas, Surasenas and Vitihotras. The area
embracing these states comprised the eastern part of North India,
the middle country, and some parts towards its west; but the coun¬
tries further west and north-west have not been referred to. Oi
the various dynasties mentioned, the Puranas deal in some detail
only with the Pauravas, Aikshvakus and the dynasties of Magadha,
but give merely the number of kings in the case of other contem¬
porary dynasties. The detailed history of the period recorded in
the Puranas is thus confined more or less to the region now repre¬
sented by the United Provinces and South Bihar.1

1. THE PAURAVAS

The first Paurava king after the Bharata War was Parikshit,
son of Abhimanyu, and grandson of Arjuna. Parikshit was well-
versed in the science of duties of kings and was endowed with noble
qualities. The story of the conquests of Parikshit or of the pros¬
perity of the Kuru kingdom during his reign, recorded respectively
in the Puranas and Atharvaveda, seems to relate to an earlier king
of that name.

The Kuru kingdom over which Parikshit ruled extended from
the Sarasvati to the Ganga according to epic tradition. It corresr
ponded to modern Thanesvar, Delhi, and the upper Gangetic Do&b.2
The Kaliyuga era is said to have started in the reign of Parikshit
after the death of Krishna, and Parikshit is reported to have chased
away the Kali out of his kingdom, which merely indicates his ex¬
cellent and benign rule. It is said that one day when lost in a
forest, while hunting, Parikshit met a sage and asked .him the way.
The sage was observing a vow of silence and did not reply. Bnng
angry Parikshit placed a dead snake round the sage’s neck and
went away. The sage’s son cursed Parikshit, and foretoJi that
within a week the king would be bitten to death by Takshaka, king
of the snakes. Despite the king’s elaborate precautions, the curse
had its effect and Parikshit died of snake bite on the appointed day.

123

THE VEDIC AGE

This mythical story seems to suggest a genuine historical fact. The
rise of the Nagas in Gandhara has already been referred to. It
appears that taking advantage of the weakened condition of the
Pauravas as the result of the Bharata War, Takshaka, king of the
Nagas, inarched against Hastinapura and king Parlkshit evidently
died in his attempt to check their attacks.

Parlkshit Js son Janamejaya was a minor when he was installed
king. To avenge his father’s death Janamejaya invaded Taksha-
sila and slaughtered countless Nagas. It was only through the in¬
tercession of Astika that Janamejaya stopped this slaughter. Tak¬
shaka appears to have escaped safely. The conquest of Taxila in
the extreme north-west indicates that the intervening Madra or
Central Punjab also was under the control of Janamejaya. The
slaughter of innumerable Nagas has been mythologized into the
Sarpasatra (snake-sacrifice) of Janamejaya where serpents fell as
oblations into the sacred fire through the spell of the Mantras .3
Janamejaya was a powerful and strong monarch and he re-esta¬
blished the Kuru dominion. After conquering Taxila and uprooting
the Nagas, Janamejaya appears to have made Taxila his headquar¬
ters for some time. The story of the Mahabharata was recited to
Janamejaya at Taxila by Vaisampayana.4 Asvapati of Kekaya was
a contemporary of Parikshit and Janamejaya. When Janamejaya
subjugated Gandhara, Asvapati Kekaya, whose territory lay to the
east of Gandhara, probably accepted Janamejaya ’s suzerainty. Asva¬
pati was famous for his good government and philosophical know¬
ledge. It is not definitely known whether Asvapati was a title or
a personal name, but it seems to be more likely that it was the title
of the rulers of Kekaya.

Kakshasena, a brother of Janamejaya, seems to have esta¬
blished a separate kingdom. From the references in the Paficha -
vimsa Brahmana which states that Driti, apparently priest of king
Abhipratarin, son of Kakshasena, performed a sacrifice in Khan-
da va, in which lay Indra-prastha,'s it appears that the junior branch
resided at Indraprastha. A further reference to the “Abhipratari-
nas” (i.e. descendants of Abhipratarin) in the same text as “the
mightiest of all their relations’ }Q suggests that the junior branch
excelled the other branches of the Kurus. The Kuru kings at In¬
draprastha continued to rule there long after the destruction of
Hastinapura and the migration of the senior branch to Kausambl.7

Janamejaya was succeeded by his son Satanika, who married a
princess from Videha. To £atanlka was born Aivamedhadatta who
was succeeded by his son Adhislmakrishj^a. None of these descen¬
dants have been definitely referred to in the Vedic texts and the

exact relationship of some Kurus mentioned in the Vedic texts is

not clear. It appears that Satanlka was the contemporary of Ugra-
sena Janaka of Videha, and Asvamedhadatta of Pravahana Jaivali

324

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE ACCESSION OF PARlKSHIT

of the Pahchaias, both of whom were philosopher kings.8 In the
reign of Adhislmakrishna, when Divakara was ruling in Ayodhya
and Sena jit in Magadha, the Puranas are said to have been recited
for the first time in the twelve-year sacrifice in the Naimishar&nya
forest oh the river Gomati in Ayodhya. Saunaka officiated as the
head sacrificer and to him were recited the Mahdbhdrata and the
Purapas as handed down by the Sutas.9 Thus there seems to have
been a collection and edition of the traditional accounts for the first
time, on the occasion of the Naimisha sacrifice. The lists of dynas¬
ties and kings that subsequently ruled were recorded in the future
tense as if they were prophecies. The Matsya and Vayti begin their
“future kings ” after the time of Adhisimakfishoja.

During the reign of Nichakshu, the son and successor of Adhi¬
slmakrishna, the Kuru kingdom appears to have passed through
severe calamities. The capital Hastinapura was washed away by
the Ganges.10 The devastation of crops in the Kuru country by
locusts (or hail-storms), mentioned in the Chhandogya Upanishad ,nl
is also possibly to be referred to this period. The famine brought
on by locusts was probably followed by heavy downpour flooding
the country. Consequently not only Hastinapura but the whole of the
northern Doab was seriously affected. The Kuru people evacuated
and migrated in a body over 300 miles down- stream and settled in
Vatsabliumi, with Kausambi, (modern Kosam on the Yamuna near
Allahabad) as their capital. This wholesale migration, according to
Pargiter, was due to the pressure from the Punjab.12 But the ex¬
planation given in traditional accounts, coupled with the locust'
menace, satisfactorily accounts for the migration. The Vatsas, it
may be recalled, were under the Paurava king of Ka£i,13 and sided
with the Pantfavas in the Bharata War.

The history of the Paurava kings of Kauiambi is obscure. The
Puranas give only a list of twenty-three kings after Nichakshu, up
to Kshemaka, the last in the line. Among them Satanlka and his son
Udayana are interesting and important figures. Satanlka, also styl¬
ed Parantapa, is said to have attacked Champa, the capital of Ahga,
during the reign of Dadhivahana.14 Udayana succeeded his father
on the Vatsa throne. According to Buddhist accounts, Udayana
was born on tne same day as the Buddha. Whether we accept it
or not, there are good grounds to believe that Udayana was con¬
temporaneous with the Buddha and also with Pradyota Mahasena
of Avanti and Ajataiatru of Magadha. His history will, therefore,
be more appropriately dealt with in the next volume.

2. THEKOSALAS

The Puranas give a list of 31 Ikshvaku kings of Kosala begin¬
ning with Brihadbala who was killed in the Bharata War. His
sixth descendant Divakara was a contemporary of the Paurava king

325

THE VEDIC AGE

Adhisimarkrishpa- This Puranic list serves as a typical instance of
the confusion brought about by jumbling together different historical
traditions at a late date. For this genealogical list of the Ikshvaku
kings of Kosala includes thO names of Sakya, Suddhodana, his son
Siddhartha and the latter’s son Rahula, immediately before Prasena-
jit, who is known from Buddhist sources as the son of Mahakosala
and a contemporary of the Buddha. Without, therefore, relying
much on this inaccurate and incomplete list we may glean a few inte¬
resting facts about Kosala from the Buddhist literature.

It appears from the Buddhist account that the Kosala kings had
their capitals at Saketa and Sravasti in addition to Ayodhya. Ayo¬
dhya was probably the earliest capital followed by Saketa, and Sra-
vasti was the last. Ayodhya was a town on the river Sarayu. Saketa
is often taken to be identical with Ayodhya, but the separate men¬
tion of both as existing in Buddha’s time suggests that they were
possibly adjoining cities like London and Westminster.1'5 Sravastl
(in Pali Savatlhi) has been identified with Sahet-Mahet, on the
south bank of the Rapti on the borders of the Gonda and Bahraich
districts of the United Provinces. In Buddha’s time, Ayodhya had
sunk into comparative insignificance but the other two figured
among the six great cities of India. The Buddhist works mention
some kings of Kosala whose names are not found in the dynastic
lists.1&

We learn from the Buddhist accounts that there were frequent
wars between the neighbouring kingdoms of Kosala and Kasi and
there was continued rivalry for supremacy between them. It ap¬
pears, however, that sometimes friendly relations prevailed bet¬
ween Kaii and Kosala and there were matrimonial alliances, and
probably the countries at times were under a common ruler who
came at the head either by conquest or by inheritance.17 The Vedic
texts indicate the close association of these two states by the phrase
Kaii-Kosala. In their struggle for supremacy sometimes Kasi and
sometimes Kosala emerged victorious. Though the Kasis appear
to have succeeded in the beginning, the final victory went to the
Kosalas. The results of these contests, as recorded in the Buddhist
literature, can be grouped in four successive stages as has been sug¬
gested by Dr. Law.18

The canonical legend in which Brahmadatta, the powerful king
of Ka£i, in his campaigns of conquests, defeated the weak Kcsalan
king Dighiti, marks the first stage in the Kasi-Kosala struggle.
Brahmadatta then ordered the execution of Dighiti and his queen
who were captured in the Kasi. realm living in disguise. Then the
Kosala prince Dighayu gained 'confidence of king Brahmadatta, was
raised to the position of a general, and was reinstated on the Kosalan
throne on account of his generosity in not killing Brahmadatta in
revenge. In the second stage, illustrated in the Rajovdda Jataka ,

326

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE ACCESSION OF PARlKSHiT

both Kasi and Kosala appear as equally powerful realms flourishing
side by side, respectively under Brahmadatta and Mallika. The
Ka&i ruler followed the religious principle of conquest of wrath by
kindness, whereas the Kosala king adhered to the strong adminis¬
trative principle of treating hard with hardness and soft with soft¬
ness. The Mahasilava Jdtaka brings out the third stage, in which
the Kosala king took advantage of the good nature and religious
tendencies of the Kasi king and invaded the neighbouring kingdom.

The final stage marks the total absorption of the Kaii kingdom
under the Kosala king Mahakosala, who has been mentioned as the
sovereign of both Kaii and Kosala. From the fact that the Bud¬
dhist records do not refer to contests between Kosala and any other
tribe or stat?, it would appear that the gradual absorption of the
clans and tribes in the northern part of Kosala was effected without
any important battle, campaign, or siege.19 The contact of Kosala
with Kasi, however, as we have seen, resulted in a struggle lasting
for generations with varying fortunes till Kaii was completely sub¬
jugated by the Kosala king Kamsa, who appears to have been a
predecessor of Mahakosala or the great Kosala. Mahakosala was
the father and immediate predecessor of Prasenajit (in Pali Pasenadi).
Dr. Raychaudhuri is inclined to identify Hiranyanabha mentioned in
later Vedic texts with Mahakosala.20 Mahakosala gave his daughter
Kosaladevi in marriage to the Magadhan king Bimbisara. The fateful
sequeLof this marriage will be described in the next volume.

3. MAGADHA

We have already seen in the last chapter that the Barhadratha
dynasty ruled in Magadha at the time of the Bharata War, and that
Jarasandha, the first great emperor of Magadha before that war,
was succeeded by his son Sahadeva, who became an ally of the
Pandavas, and was killed in ‘ the war. After Sahadeva, his sou
Somadhi became king at Girivraja, at the foot of which Rajagjriha,
the ancient capital of Magadha, grew up. The old site of Rajagriha
corresponds to modem Rajgir in the Patna district. Sena jit, the
sixth successor of Somadhi, was a contemporary of the Paurava
Adhisimakrishpa and Kosala Divakara. Ripunjaya, the twenty-first
jn descent from Somadhi, is stated to have been the last king of the
Barhadratha dynasty. Ripunjaya is said to have been killed by his
minister Pulika (variants: Su#- Mu*- or Punika, Pulaka) who then
installed his son Pradyota on the throne. The Pradyota dynasty,
according to the Pur an as, lasted for five generations covering a period
of 138 years, and was supplanted by SiSunaga who, after placing
his son to rule over Kasi, fixed his capital at Girivraja (or Raja¬
griha).21 Bimbisara and Ajatasatru appear in the Puranic lists as
fifth and sixth in descent from Sisunaga, who founded a new royal
dynasty, called the Saisunaga.

327

THE VEDIC AGE

But the Puranas have distorted history, and most of the above
statements regarding the events following the death of Purahjaya
are contradicted not only by the testimony of other Sanskrit sources
and Buddhist accounts, but by the Puranas themselves. Here, as in
the case of Kosala, genuine historical facts have been wrongly
jumbled together, and it appears that the independent lists of the
dynasties qi Pradyota, Sisunaga and Bimbisara have been placed in
a false sequence and supplied with imaginary connecting links.

That the Pradyotas ruled at A\/anti would be evident from the
statement in the Matsya Parana itself,22 and we have no reliable
evidence that there was any Pradyota dynasty of Magadha. The
first Pradyota was a contemporary of Bimbisara of Magadha accord¬
ing to Pali accounts, and a co-ordination of the Puranas with other
Sanskrit literature also supports the same conclusion; but the Pura¬
nas separate Pradyota and Bimbisara by about ten generations. If
Sisunaga destroyed the fame of the Pradyotas, he must come about
four or five generations after Chsmda Pradyota, the first king of the
Pradyota dynasty. Sisunaga has been placed as the progenitor of
the Bimbisara family by the Puranas, whereas the Pali accounts
rightly place him four or five generations after Pradyota (and hence
also Bimbisara, his contemporary) and make him the founder of a
dynasty that succeeded the dynasty of Bimbisara.

The Puranas themselves in a way indicate the posteriority of
Sisunaga to Bimbisara as they include Varanasi in Sisunaga’s domi¬
nions,*3 because Bimbisara and Ajatasatru were the first to establish
Magadha domination in Kasi. The hostility between Avanti and
Magadha, again, is to be met with for the first time in Ajatasatru!s
reign. There is no trace of it during the period of Bimbisara’, and
hence Sisunaga who supplanted the Pradyotas must come after Bim¬
bisara and Ajatasatru. The probable reason for placing Sisunaga
before the Bimbisara- Ajatasatru group appears to be that Sisunaga
had his capital at Rajagyiha, and as Udayin was credited in the
Puranic accounts with the removal of the capital to Pataliputra,24
it was thought by the ill-informed Puranic chroniclers of a late
date that Sisunaga came before Udayin. But the statement in the
Malalankdravatthu that Rajagyiha lost its rank as a royal city from
the time of Sisunaga indicates that Sisunaga flourished after the
palmy days of Rajagpiha, i.e. the period of Bimbisara and Ajatasatru.
Sisunaga probably chose the. old capital Raj agriha as his head¬
quarters in order to meet the attacks from Avanti on that part of
Magadha.

We may thus hold that the Barhadratha dynasty in Magadha
ended with Ripunjaya who was probably killed by his minister, and
was succeeded by Bimbisara. The history of this famous king Who
laid the foundations of the greatness of Magadha will be related in
the next volume.

328

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM TUB ACCESSION OF PARIKSHIT

4. OTHER KINGDOMS

In addition to the three important kingdoms of Magadha,
Kosala, and Vatsa, mentioned above, several others flourished during
the period following the great Bharata War. But their history is
little known, and we have to rest content with a few casual notices,
gleaned from different sources. Beginning from the west we have
the Panchala kingdom, the total number of whose rulers from the
Bharata War up to Mahapadma Nfcnda is given as twenty-seven in
the Puranas though no names are mentioned.

Parichakra, Kampilya (or Kamplla) and Ahichchhatra are the
important cities in Pahchala that have been mentioned in the Vedic
and Puranic texts. Reference has already been made to the first
two cities. Ahichchhatra has been identified with a ruined site of
the same name near modern Ramnagar in the Bareilly district. The
city was still considerable in extent when visited by the Chinese
pilgrim Hiuen Tsang in the seventh century.

Reference has already been made to the division of the Pahchila
into north and south during the reign of king Drupada. A. Jataka
story seems to suggest that a Chedi prince went tb the north and
formed the Uttara Panchala kingdom with colonists from the Ran¬
ch ala and Chedi countries.2"' The Aitareya Brdhmana (VIII, 23)
represents Durmukha as a universal monarch who made extensive
conquests in every direction and was anointed by Bphaduktha.

Probably the Durmukha (Dummukha) of the Brahmanical and
Buddhist accounts is identical with Dvimukha of Panchala, who,
according to Jain tradition, was a Pratyeka-Buddha. Some accounts
, associate the name of Brahmadatta, legendary king, with Panchala.

We have next the kingdom of Surasena with its capital at
Mathura on the Yamuna. Siirasena (modern Muttra district includ¬
ing some of the territory still further south) before the period of
the Bharata War was under the occupation of the scions of the
Yadu family. The Puranas mention twenty-three Surasenas after
the Bharata War up to the period of Nanda, but no dynastic lists
are available.

To the south of 6urasena lay Avanti. Avanti roughly corres¬
ponds to central Malwa, Nimar and the adjoining parts of the Central
Provinces.26 The capital of the state was also known as Avanti or
UjjayinI, identified with modern Ujjain on the Sipra, a tributary of
the ChambaL UjjayinI was a very important city in "ancient India
both politically and commercially, and it is rather strange that the
rulers of so famous a city have not been directly mentioned in the
Puranic accounts. It is probable, however, that the twenty-eight
(according to some Puranas twenty-four) Haihayas 'the descendants
of Yadu) who are said to have ruled after the Bharata War were

329

THE VEDIC AGE

really the rulers of Avanti. For it may be recalled that the Avantis
were one of the five branches of the Haihayas.27 According to
some scholars the twenty Vitihotras who are mentioned in the
Purapas as having ruled after the Bharata War, were kings of
Avanti.27* But no definite information is available regarding the
history of Avanti after Vinda and Anuvinda, who flourished at the.
time of the Bharata War. When we next hear of Avanti, more than
five centuries later, it was under the Pradyotas, as has been related
above.

Special importance attaches to the kingdom of Videha as it was
a great centre of culture and learning. The Videha dynasty, or
the race of the Janakas according to Puranic accounts, ended with
Kriti, who has been identified with Kjitakshana, son of Bahulaiva, the
ruler at the time of the Bharata War.28 But as we find mention of
Janakas of Videha even after the period of Yudhishfchira, the identi¬
fication of the last of the Janakas does not seem to be correct as is
rightly pointed out by Ray chaudhuri. 29 Kriti may reasonably be
identified with Karala (Janaka) the Vaideha, mentioned in the
Arthaidstra, who is said to have perished along with his kingdom
and relatives on account of his violation of a Brahmana maiden.30
This story is confirmed in the Buddhist accounts, which make
Kajara the last of the line.

The great king Janaka of Videha, and the sage Yajnavalkya,
from whom he learnt Brdhmavidyd (spiritual knowledge), are famous
names in Indian history, hut their chronology is uncertain and there
might have been more than one pair bearing these names. It ap¬
pears from the Mahabharata that one Janaka was ruling over Videha
at the time of Janamejaya, son of Parlkshit, and Svetaketu, son of
Uddfilaka, a prominent figure in Janaka’s court, attended Janame-
jaya’s snake sacrifice31 The philosopher king Janaka of the Upa-
nishads was a contemporary of Yajnavalkya and Aivapati, king of
the Kekayas, but unfortunately both Yajnavalkya and Aivapati are
also family names, just like Janaka, so that no chronological deduc¬
tions can he drawn from this synchronism. Dr. Raychaudhuri places
the Vedic Janaka, whom he takes to be the father of Sita, after the
date of Janamejaya Krikshita, the descendant of the Pan<$avas.32
This identification goes against many well-established synchronism
in traditional history and fails to account for the period of Rama and
the subsec uent Ikshvakus in the scheme of history.

There is, however, no doubt that one pair of Janaka, the philo¬
sopher king, and Yajnavalkya flourished after the period of the
Bharata War, as gatamkal the successor of Janamejaya, is said to
be the disciple of this Yajnavalkya who was himself a disciple of
Va&ampayana. XJgrasena may probably be the personal name of
this Janaka, though this name does not occur in dynastic lists.33
It may be noted that the fame of the Janakas of Videha, both before

330

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE ACCESSION OF PARIKSH1T

and after the Bharata War, rests more on their patronage of learning,
culture, philosophy, and spiritual attainments than on their martial
exploits or sacrifices. Kings of Videha usually maintained friendly
relations with neighbouring states and formed matrimonial alliances
with different contemporary ruling families.

The degeneracy in character of the last monarch, as already
stated, brought the Videha dynasty to an end, and the overthrow
of the monarchy was followed by the rise of a republic. This poli¬
tical revolution in Videha is one of the important events during this
period. In Buddha’s time the Videhas, along with the Lichchl.avis
of Vaiiali and other clans, formed a powerful confederation known
as the Vajj is. The Kaii people apparently had a hand in the over¬
throw of the Videhan monarchy, as frequent struggles between
Kaii and Videha have been referred to in an earlier period. Perhaps
a junior branch of the royal family of Kaii established itself in
Videha.34 The Puranas mention twenty-eight Maithilas as having
ruled after the Bharata War. They were probably rulers of Videha.

The traditional accounts contain no information about the king¬
dom of Kaii after the Bharata War beyond mentioning that there
were twenty-four Kasi kings down to the period of the Nandas. The
Kasis, being contiguous to the Kosalas and Videhas, naturally had

some connections with these states. The later Vedic texts mention

« •

Kaii-Kosala and Kaii-Videha together, stating also that sometimes
these had the same king and a common Purohita, which indicates
the close contact that subsisted between these three states, Kasi,
Kosala, and Videha.35

The ill-feeling and rivalry between Kaii and Kosala which is
indicated by Buddhist texts has already been referred to in connec¬
tion with the Kosalas. The Assaka Jdtaka testifies to the exten¬
sion of the Kaii suzerainty to Potali in the kingdom of Assaka in
Southern India. Kasi, the capital of the state, was the premier
city in all India, extending over twelve leagues as compared to seven
leagues which was the extent of Mithila and Indraprastha.33 On
account of the importance of the city of Kasi or Benares, it was the
coveted prize of the neighbouring states. According to the Puranic
account, during different periods in its history, Kaii came under
the sway of three successive suzerain powers of Northern India — :
the Pauravas of Vatsa, the Ikshvakus of Kosala and the kings of
Magadha.37 In the interval between the decline of Vatsa and the
rise of Kosala, Kasi appears to have enjoyed independence under
its famous king, Brahmadatta, who conquered Kosala, possibly about
a century and a half before Buddha’s time.

To the east of Magadha lay Anca. It has already been stated
(p. 325) that Jgatanlka, the father of Udayana of Kauiambi, attacked
Champa, the capital of Dadhivahana, king of Ahga who, according
to Puranic accounts, was the son of Ahga. The Jain tradition re-

331

THE VEDIC AGE

presents Dadhivahana’s daughter Chandana or Chandrabala as the
first female to embrace Jainism shortly after Mahavira’s death. In
the confusion consequent on Salonika's invasion of Champa, Chan¬
dana fell into the hands of a robber, but she is said to have main¬
tained the vows of the order throughout. Anga seems to have been
on terms of hostility all along with its neighbouring state of Maga-
dha, and at one time included parts of Magadha, as would appear
from the mention of Raj agriha as a city of Ahga. The Ariga suze¬
rainty would also be evident from the defeat of king Bhaftiya of
Magadha by king Brahmadatta of Ahga. But the Ahga kingdom
loat its independence when Bimbisara, son of Bhattiya, avenged his
father’s defeat and killed the Ahga king Brahmadatta, annexed the
capital Champa, and continued there as viceroy till he left for Raja-
g?iha on his father's death,38 Bimbisara later converted Ahga into
a separate province and appointed his son Ajataiatru (Kunika) as
governor with headquarters at Champa.

The existence of several other kingdoms during this period is
known to us, but we know hardly anything about them. The Pura-
uas refer to thirty-two rulers of Kalihga, and twenty-five of the
A&naka kingdom, but do not give any other details. There were
also the kingdoms of Gandhara and Kamboja in the west, but they
do not come into prominence until somewhat later. There were
probably other kingdoms of which we do not even know the names.

Gfa the whole, the history of India, during the period of 400 or
800 years following the Bharata War, according as we place that
event in 100 or 1400 B.C., is only known to us in vague outline.
All that we can say definitely is that Northern India was divided
into a large number of states and, so far as our knowledge goes,
no paramount power arose within this long period which could
effectively exercise its supremacy over all or even a large number
of them. We can dimly discern the struggles for supremacy, and
even the ideal of imperialism so strongly stressed in the Maha-
bh&rata was by no means absent, but we do not note any substan¬
tial progress towards the political unification of India.

1. Ike omission of the states in the Punjab and the north-west is significant, and
probably indicates that these states were seriously affected by the disorganisa¬
tion consequent on the Bhirata War. We find the wild tribe of the Nagas, who
were probably inhabiting Gandhara, suddenly rising to power and taking pos¬
session of Tucsha&iia. They also invaded the Paurava kingdom, which had be¬
come feeble, and reached up to Hastinapura where they killed the Paurava king
Parffahit.

2. PHAJ, p. 20.

3. The Zmrp&Mtra mentioned in the P&nchavimsa Brdhmana at which one Jana-
mejaya b said to have officiated as a priest is quite distinct from the Sarpasatra
instituted by king Jana me jay a, as it was for securing preservation and well-
being of the serpents, whereas the epic Sarposatra was for the destruction of
the serpents (PancK. Rr„ XXV. 15. 3; Vtd. Ind., I, 274). Raychaudhuri regards
the epic account of the Sarpmatra as having no historical basis, but accepts the
conquest of Taxilfc by Janamejaya as a historical fact (PHAI, 30-31). But the
Brahmana passages on which he relies for support (Ait. Br.f VIII, 21; 6at. Br.t

332

TRADITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE ACCESSION OF PARJKSHIT

XIII. 5.4. 1-3) relate to the universal conquests of Janamejaya, the predecessor
of the Panda vas, and are stated in connection with his horse-sacrifice. Janame-
jaya, the descendant of the Paridavas. also started a horse-sacrifice, but it was
not completed on account of some technical difficulties ( Hari , III. 2. 5-6, 28-29;
5, 11-17), and hence Janamejaya who is said to have performed horse-sacrifices
must certainly be his ancestor.

4. Mbh, XVIII. 5. 34.

5. Panch. Br., XXV. 3. 6, XIV, 1. 12.

6. Panch. Br., II. 9. 4.

7. Raychaudhuri, PJtfAI, p. 38. According to Pargiter, “the principalities on the
Sarasvat! and at Indraprastha disappeared, and Hastinapura remained the out¬
post of the Hindu kingdoms of North India” ( A1HT , p. 285).

8. Pargiter, A JOT, pp. 328, 330.

9. Pargiter, DKA, pp. 1, 4, 9-10, 15.

10. DKA, p. 5.

11. Chhandogya Up., I. 10. 1: “Matachihatexhu Kurmhu ...”

12. A1HTS p. 285.

13. Pargiter; AlHT, pp. 269-70.

14. JASB, 3914, p. 321.

15. Rhys Davids, Buddhist India, p. 39.

16. Such as Sagaradeva, Bharata, Ahgirasa, Ruchi, Suruchi, Prate pa, Mahapratepa,
Sudarsana, Mahasammata, Muchala, Kaiyana, &atadhanu, Makhadcva, Sadhina.

17. Law, Tribes, p. 127.

38. Ibid., pp. 125-7.

19 CHI, I, p. 180.

. ) PHA1 , p. 89..

W. Pargiter, DKA. pp. 18-22.

22. Matsya P., 272. 1: Brihadratheshvatilaahu Vitihotrcshv ~ Avantishu; Pulakah
svdminam hatv d svaputramabhishekshyati.

23. Cf. Matsya P., 272. 6; V&rdnasydm sutam sthdpya.

M Cf. Matsya P., 272. 6; Vdyu P.. 99. 319.

2;' . Law, Tribes, p. 32.

26. Ravchaudhuri, PHAI, p. 122.

27. Cf. Matsya P., 43. 48-9,

27a. JBORS. 1915, p. 10.

28. AlHT , pp. 96, 149, 330.

29. PHAI, p. 69.

30. Arthasastra . Mysore Ed., 1919, p. 11.

31. Mbh (Cr. Ed.), I. 48. 7; cf. III. 132. 16, 19; also III. 135. 21-3.

32. PHAI , p. 47.

33. Mbh (Cr. Ed.), HI. 134. 1.

34. PHAI, pp. 71-2.

35. Aahkhayana £S, xvi, 29. 5; Baudhdyana $S, XXI, 3; Gopatha Br., i, 2: 9; Law,
Tribes, p. 127.

36. Cf. Jataka Nos. 515 (Sambhava), 489 (Suruchi) and 545 (Vidhurapandita).

37. CHI, I, p. 316.

38. Hardy, Manual of Buddhism , p. 163 n.

333

)

BOOK FIVE

THE AGE OF THE RIK-SAMHITA

CHAPTER XVI

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

THE language of the Rigveda is the oldest known Indo-Aryan
language. In several respects, x it is true, its specific characteriza¬
tion has gone further than that of the oldest forms of Iranian speech
known to us. But that does not warrant the assumption that the
Rigvedie language is later than Gathic Avestan. For the innova¬
tions differentiating the language of the Rigveda from that of the
Avesta are for the -most part not such as may be expected to develop
in course of normal and gradual evolution, but are rather sugges¬
tive of a violent deflection from the natural course. Thus the nor¬
mal and natural tendency of all the known Indo-European languages
has been to spirantize the occlusives either through an overdose
(as in Germanic) or through an underdose (as in Celtic) of expend¬
ed expiratory energy; but the language of the Rigveda , instead of
spirantizing the Indo-Iranian occlusives, has on the contrary occlud¬
ed a number of Indo-Iranian spirants, eliminated some, and retain¬
ed only the surd sibilants. The appearance of a whole series of
cerebrals, unknown in any other Indo-European dialect, points, like¬
wise, rather to violent deflection than to gradual evolution. Similar
violent deflection from the normal course of evolution cannot, how¬
ever, be pointed out in Iranian. It would, therefore, be wrong to
consider the innovations of both Avestan and Sanskrit in the same
light, or to draw any conclusion as to their relative chronology from
a , comparison of those innovations.

Regarded from this point of view,, it would moreover seem that
the whole problem of Indo-European phonetics requires restatement
and reconsideration. It has been always tacitly assumed that Sans¬
krit, which possesses so few spirants, gives the truest picture of
Indo-European consonantism; but that is, at the best, an unproved*
hypothesis. What is an incontestable fact is that a strong spiran¬
tizing tendency was present already in the basic Indo-European
language, and that this tendency, already in the later Indo-European
epoch, caused the emergence of a whole new series of palatals out
of the velars.

Moreover, in all the better known Indo-European dialects of
the historical age, the number of spirants is much larger than in
Sanskrit. And when we add to all this the further consideration
that in actual pronunciation the true occlusive — which is in each
case an ideal norm between the results of the expenditure of too
much and too little expiratory energy — is hardly ever heard in any
language then perhaps it would seem obvious and necessary to

337

THE VEDIC AGE

consider the imposing system of occlusives registered by Sanskrit
grammarians not as a faithful picture of the original state of things
in the basic Indo-European, but as the result of later variation.

It is not too much to suggest that also the sonant aspirates,
which are found in no other Indo-European dialect, are but the
Indian version of Indo-European sonant spirants. It appears, there¬
fore, that not only the Indo-European vowel-system has been fun¬
damentally transformed in Sanskrit, as is universally recognized
to-day, but also, that, at least in one respect, namely in respect of
spirants, Sanskrit consonantism has innovated no less. And this
holds good for- the oldest recorded form of Sanskrit, namely the
language of the Rigveda.

The Higvedic language is hieratic, and therefore to some extent
exclusive and artificial; but it is on that account by no means an
instrument of mere suggestion without any power of direct and
forceful expression, as is the case, in a great measure, with Classical
Sanskrit. On the contrary in pithiness it excels even the Latin of
the Classical Age. That is largely because the Rigvedic poets strove
throughout to present a complete idea, though not always a com¬
plete sentence, in every verse-foot ( pada ). Padas of this kind,
usually of eight to twelve syllables, were naturally not easy to
construct, and, therefore, ready-made Padas have often been re¬
peated in the Rigveda with or without any material variation,
though not so indiscriminately as were the Homeric verse-frag¬
ments in the Iliad.2

The verb generally used in the Rigveda to express the art of
versification is taksh, which literally means “to hew.” Just as a
carpenter, by applying the art of his trade, constructs beautiful
pieces of furniture, so does the poet — kdru (literally: “manual
worker”) — manufacture beautiful verses and hymns with which to
win the favour of the gods, either for himself, or more frequently,
for his patron. Such hymns were regarded directly as gifts of gods
( devatta ). It is clear that verse-making had already become a re¬
cognized profession in the Rigvedic age, and also that this profes¬
sion had become a monopoly of the priestly classes. In the hands
of the professional verse-makers Rigvedic poetry attained an amaz¬
ing degree of technical perfection, but true poetry could not and
did not flourish in the Rigvedic atmosphere, surcharged as it was
with a spirit of bargaining between gods and men. Poetry of a
high order springs either from absolute self-surrender, or from abso-
lute individualism. But the spirit of Rigvedic poetry always oscil¬
lates between these two extremes, without ever attaining the highest
altitude of either. Barring the all-pervading element of ritualism
that has deadened its life, Rigvedic poetry therefore strikes the reader
as intensely human, though not as actually sublime. With these

33S

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

few preliminary remarks about Rigvedic language and literature,
we shall now proceed to a more detailed analysis of both.

1. LANGUAGE

In its phonetic structure the Rigvedic language shows practi¬
cally the Scime sounds as the Classical Sanskrit, the only notable
exceptions being { and lh, which take the place of intervocalic d and
dh in the Rigveda. But the frequency of the sounds is not the same
in the Rigveda and in Classical Sanscrit. The relative frequency
of r and Z in Rigvedic and later language is highly interesting. In
the older language, l is of rare occurrence, but it extends its sphere
more and more at the expense of r, and it is well known that in
. the Prakritic stage some dialects of eastern India had completely
eliminated r. It is also well known on the other hand that in
ancient Iranian every Indo-European 1 had become an r. During
the intervening period, of which roughly the first half is covered
by changing and living Sanskrit,3 r lost more and more ground to l.
In the. later portions of the Rigveda , l is eight times as frequent as in
the older parts, and in the Atharvaveda it is seven times as frequent
as in the Rigveda .4 Thus it is clear that increase of Z in frequency
went hand in hand with the progress of the Aryans towards the east.
In a passage often repeated in the Brahmanas it is said that the
Asuras suffered defeat at the hands of the gods because they mis¬
pronounced the word arayah as alaydh:3 This would suggest that
in the later Vedic age, when the word asura had lost its original
meaning and became a general term of opprobrium, the propensity*
of the easterners to pronounce Z for r was noticed and frowned upon
by the orthodox Aryans. Or it may mean -that the Asuras referred
to were none but those of the incoming Aryan tribes who, being of
a particular group with its particular phonetic laws, not only re¬
tained unchanged the Indo-European l, but also made it the repre¬
sentative of Indo-European r.6 In short, the behaviour of l and r
in the Rigveda suggests as clearly that the invading Aryans were
not quite homogeneous in speech as the increase of l at the expense
of r suggests increasing eastern influence on the Vedic language.

That the Rigvedic language was not quite homogeneous is prov¬
ed also by its lack of uniformity in 'regard to Fortunatov’s law.
According to this law, Indo-European Z, when followed by dental
occlusive or s, disappears after cerebralizing the following sound,
whereas Indo-European r under similar circumstances remains. Thus
in Skt. jathara the -Jh- is derived from Indo-European -Zth- (cf.
Gothic kilthei ), and in Skt. bhashate, the -sh- is derived from Indo-
European -Zs- (cf. Lithuanian balsas ); but in Skt. vart- vars-, the r
in the sound-group -rt- and -rs- (both of Indo-European antiquity,
cf. Lat. verto , Gr. erse)has not disappeared. These and other simi¬
lar examples seem to prove Fortunatov’s law; but there are excep-

339

THE VEDIC AGE

tions. Indo-European l -f- dental has clearly developed into -rt- in
Skt. jartu - which is a side-form of jafhara-, and is, like it, connected
with Goth, kilthei, and in Skt. karshu, which is connected with
Greek telson, the l of the Indo-European consonant group -Is- has
not disappeared as Fortunatov’s law would have it, but has become
r, Be-occludization of some occlusives in the Rigveda shows that
this characteristic of the Prakrit dialects was latent also in the
oldest Sanskrit. Thus we find h for dh in the verbal ending -hi for
-dhi, in hita from dha-, in griha from *gridha, etc., h for bh in grah-,
a side-form of grahh h for gh in hanti (cf. ghnanti ), in arh a side-
form of argh in dah- from dhagh-, etc.

Apart from these significant details which seem to challenge
the claim of the Rigvedic language to have been a homogeneous one,
there are others which definitely prove that to some extent it was
also artificial. Thus it can hardly be an accident that in the Atri-
Ma^Jala (fifth) there is not a single infinitive form in -tu; the Kao-
vas, the reputed authors of the first and the eighth Masalas, seem
to have intentionally avoided using infinitive forms in -turn and
~tavat; the Vasish^has, the authors of the seventh Masala, show a
similar aversion to absolutives in -tva and -tvaya. Moreover, perfect
forms Uk e^yamdtur (VI. 87 1) and skaml/hathur (VI. 72. 2), without
reduplication, must be regarded as purely artificial momentary for¬
mations like the non-reduplicating second person dual perfect tak-
shathur (X. 39. 4), formed perhaps in imitation of the third person
plural preterite takshur (II. 19. 8), which in that case must have
been mistaken for a perfect-form as Wackernagel7 has suggested.
This also proves in a striking manner that the language of the earlier
was already in danger of being misunderstood when the
hymns of the tenth Masala were being composed.

Intentional imitation of the earlier parts of the Rigveda in the
later parts is clearly proved in the case of the group of hymns X.
20-26, the author of which “has emphasized his dependence on ear¬
lier tradition by prefixing to his own group the opening words of
the first hymn of the first book.”6 At any rate, parts of the earlier
Rigveda must have become part of the ritual tradition at the time
of the author of the hymn X. 181, for he mentions the fact that the
Bathantara-saman is chanted to a couplet composed by Vasishtha
(VII. 32. 22-23) and the Bjrihat-saman on another composed by Bha-
radvaja (VI. 46. 1-2).

On the whole, however, the language of the first nine Manilas
must be regarded as homogeneous, in spite of traces of previous
dialectal differences, particularly in the treatment of r and lt and of
faint suggestions of particular mannerisms of different composer-
families. With the tenth Masala it is a different story. The
language has here definitely changed. The difference in language
between the earlier Masalas and the tenth would have appeared

340

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

in its true proportions if the texts concerned had been written down
at the time they were composed and handed down to us in that
written form.

The fact, however, is that the text-tradition of the Rigveda was
stabilized at a comparatively late date, and fixed in writing at a
much later epoch. The result has been not unlike what would
have happened if the works of Chaucer and Shakespeare were put
in writing and printed for the first time in the twentieth century:
in short the text of the Rigveda as handed down to us is, in various
details, not only different from what it actually was, but to some
extent also screens the differences that mark off the languages of
the earlier Mandalas from that of the tenth.8a The evidence of the
metres, which, inter alia , demand a heavy penultimate in verse-feet
of ten or eleven syllables but a light one in those of eight or twelve,0
clearly proves that the actual pronunciation of the word pdvaka must
have been pavdka in the Rigvedic age, but the fact has been com¬
pletely suppressed in the traditional text. Similarly, on the evi¬
dence of the metres, the word chhardis seems to have been with¬
out an r in the Rigveda, and very probably the redactors of the
Rik-samhitd in some passages intentionally altered chhadis into
chhardis for reasons that cannot now be ascertained.10

Apart from these and other sporadical instances of misrepre¬
sentation,11 the text of the Rigveda has in various respects under¬
gone a fundamental rehandling that has to no small degree altered
its original character. In the original text, there was hardly ever
sandhi between the end of a verse-foot and the beginning of another,
as is clearly indicated by the evidence of metres, but the final re¬
dactors have systematically joined them in sandhi wherever pos¬
sible,'13 though they did not apply their misguided zeal to cases
of non-sandhi within the verse-foot. The application of abhinihita-
sandhi (absorption of an initial a- into a final -e or -o) is in this
regard highly interesting. Whether within a verse-foot or between
two verse-feet, the abhinihita-sandhi in almost all its instances has to
be dissolved in reading. But the fact is that this sandhi is found
in the written text regularly between two verso-feet (i.e. where
it should not have taken place at all), but within the verse-foot its
occurrence is irregular and facultative, seemingly without any prin¬
ciple. Similar, though not qiiite the same, is the case also with the
other kinds of vowel-sandhi in the Rigveda, such as kshaipra (i.e.
the change of a preceding vowel into the corresponding semi-vowel
before a dissimilar vowel) and Praslishta (i.e. coalition of two similar
vowels into a long one), for they too have to be dissolved in reading,
often within the verse-foot and practically always between two
verse-feet. Bui semi-vowels which are not the result of kshaipra -
sandhi have also to be very often dissolved ( iyddipurana ).

341

THE VEDiC AGE

The evidence o f metre shows, moreover, that not seldom a short
vowel nas to ne inserted in reading net ween a consonant and an r
immediately preceding or lollowmg it in the same word (thus indra
has oiien to oe read mcLara). This inserted vowel sometimes reveals
liexionai lorms wmcn otherwise would never have been discovered.
Thus apparently the stems in -i, -u, /-intake the endings - yoh , voh,
and ‘Ton respectively in genitive and locative dual as in the classical
language, but readings restored with the help of the metre clearly
show that the normal ending in the itigvedic age was dissyllabic in
each case: the traditional text has adopted these monosyllabic end¬
ings, evidently under the influence of the later language. 12 The
case of long ri is rather peculiar. As a rule it is found in the written
text only in those forms which are palpably similar to, other forms
with other long vowels; thus pitrin is written with long ri because
palpably similar forms such as munim or sadhiin show a long vowel.
Otherwise the short ri in the Rigveda represents also the long
j-i. Thus in dridha the short ri stands for long ri that is demanded
both by grammar and orthoepy. Frank cases of Prakritism are
jyotis from dyul ushtanam 1 3 for ushprandm, sithira for srithira,
sure duhita (I. 34. 5) for suro duhita (VII. 69. 4), etc. On the other
hand, words like ni$a (from *ni-zd- a), diilabha (from ::duz-dabh-a),
shodasa (from * shash-dasa) , etc., could have been formed only at
a pre-Vedic stage of the language.

Such , a pre-Vedic stage is suggested also by forms of the so-
called flexion Jane of a number of i-stems and u-stems, found only
in the Rigveda and certainly of Indo-European antiquity/4 Vowels
of dissyllabic, value are a precious relic of Indo-European antiquity,
the commonest case being the ending - dm in the genitive plural
which has often to be read as -adm. The use of a verb-form in the
singular number w’hen the subject is a plurality of neuter things
was the normal rule in the original Indo-European of which ample
evidence is found in other Indo-European dialects, but in the
Rigveda we have only one sure instance of this usage, namely dhri -
shvave dhiyatc dhand (I. 81. 3).

The verbal system revealed by the Rigveda is infinitely more
complex than that of Classical Sanskrit, and yet what we. find is a
drastically simplified form of what it was in the basic Indo-Euro¬
pean language. Thus the original thematic ending -o in the first
person singular has been preserved only in thirteen subjunctive
forms,15 but in other subjunctive forms of the first person singular
it was extended by -ni that came to be associated with it already in
the Indo-Iranian epoch. The active ending in the first person plural
seems to have been -mes in the original Indo-European on .the evi¬
dence of Greek and other languages, but the ancient Iranian dialects
know only -masi:lc in the Rigveda both -masi and -mas occur side
by side, the former being more than five times as frequent as the

342

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

latter; in the Atharvaveda - mas becomes commoner than -masi,
and in the classical language -masi disappears altogether. The
augment has retained in the Rigveda its original character of an
independent preverb, and as such is very frequently dispensed with
tvhen the’past sense is clear from the context. The forms thus ob¬
tained are either of the indicative or of the injunctive mood, almost
equal in number in the Rigveda , the injunctive forms being in about
one-third of their occurrences governed by the prohibitive particle
ma. 1 7 In the classical language the augment can be dropped only
when in construction with this prohibitive particle. The perfect
is not necessarily a tense of the past as in Classical Sanskrit, but is
merely suggestive of the fullest amplitude of action. It is pro¬
nouncedly suggestive of past action only when preceded by adverbs
like purd “formerly but it can also be governed by particles like
nunam “now.”

On the whole the Rigvedic verb expresses more the modes
and aspects of action than the time of occurrence, if the augment,
which was not an integral part of the verb, is left out of considera¬
tion. The subjunctive mood is in full bloom in the Rigveda, but it
was completely eliminated from the classical language. On the
other hand, the optative, though not so popular as the subjunctive
in the Rigveda, has been retained throughout. The future tense
which was in origin a desiderative present was in the Rigveda still
in the process of changing its role. It is still in its beginnings, and
the Rigveda forms a future stem only from fifteen roots.

The language of the tenth Mandala represents a distinctly later
stage of the Rigvedic language.18 Hiatus, which is frequent in the
earlier Rigveda, is already in process of elimination here. Stressed
i a cannot in sandhi be changed into y v in the earlier parts, but in
the tenth Mandala they can. The ending - asas in nominative plural
is half as frequent as -as in the Rigveda taken as a whole, but its
number of occurrences is disproportionately small in the tenth Man¬
dala. Absolutives in - tvdya occur only here. The stem rai- is
inflected in one way in the first nine Mandalas, and in another in
the tenth, ' 3 and in the inflexion of dyau -, too, the distribution of
strong and weak forms is much more regular in the earlier Mandalas.
The Prakritic verbal stem kuru - appears only in the tenth Mandala
for the earlier kriiiu-. Many words appear for the first time in
the tenth Mandala or are shared by it only with the interpolated
parts of other Mandalas. The old locative form pritsu, adjectives
like girvanas and vicharshani, and the substantive viti do not occur
at all in the tenth Mandala. though in the earlier Mandalas they are
quite common. The particle shn, which is unknown in the Athar¬
vaveda, occurs fifty times in the first nine Mandalas but only once
in the tenth. Words like djya, kola, lohita, vijaya , etc., occur for
the first time in the tenth Mar.dala, as also the root lahh-. Words

343

THE VEDIC AGE

shared with the tenth Masala only by the interpolated parts of
other Mandalas, the Valakhilyas, and unmistakably late hymns are
loka (for earlier uloka which is a haplology for uruloka ), mogha ,
visarga, gup - (a back-formation from popa), etc. And words which
occur mostly, though not exclusively, in the tenth Mandate and these
parts, are sarva, bhagavant , prana, hridaya, etc. The archaic particle
% of pronominal origin, for which the Padapatha throughout wrongly
reads Im, does not occur at all in the tenth Masala, and the particle
im, which is only less archaic than x, occurs in it only about half a
dozen times.20 Of forms like dakshi , adukshat, etc.,21 which are
the results of the action of a pre-Vedic phonetic law,22 only one,
namely dudukshan, occurs in the tenth Mandate. It is unnecessary
to dilate any further on the language of the Rigveda.

2 . LITERATURE

The Rigvedic literature is not less colourful. The earliest at¬
tempt to classify Vedic hymns systematically according to contents
is to be lound in Yaska’s Nirukta (VII. 1-2). Stating first that the
stanzas are either indirectly addressed ( paroksha ), directly addres¬
sed i pratyaksha), or are self-invocations {adhydtmikl) , Yaska pro¬
ceeds to specify the characteristics and cite instances of the various
types of hymns. There are, to begin with, hymns in pure praise
of the deity without any prayer, as, for instance the Indra-hymn
I. 32, bearing unmistakable characteristics of a popular ballad:23

1. The heroic deeds of Indra shall I proclaim, the deeds
that the thunder-wielder performed first.

He slew* the dragon, freed the waters, slit the bowels
of the hills.

2. He slew the dragon resting on the hill.

Tvashfa had forged for him the shining thunder,

And the waters springing forth rushed towards the ocean,
like cows lowing (at the sight of their calves).

8. Like a broken reed there he lay.

Over him flowed the waters gladdening hearts;

Those whom Vritra held beleaguered by his body — :
at their feet now he lay.

11. As Dasa-wives stayed the waters guarded by the.dragon,
like the cows restrained by the Pai^is:

the watery pit which was sealed, — that he opened by
slaying Vritra, and released the waters.

15. Indra is the monarch of all that move and rest.

the thunder-wielder is monarch of tame and horned

animals:

He indeed is ruler of all the peoples;

like a felly round the spokes of a wheel he protects all.

Mantras of the second type, according to Yaska, are those in

344

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

which the poet prays for favours without praising the deity. It is
significant that Yaska cannot cite a single Mantra of this type out
of the Rigveda, but adds that they are plentiful in the Yajurveda.
Oaths and imprecations constitute the third type according to Yaska,
and he cites as instance Rigveda VII. 104. 15: “May I die to-day if
I am a sorcerer or if I have tried to take a man’s life by sorcery,
but may he, too, who falsely called me a sorcerer, bewail the death
of ten grown up sons.” Fourthly, according to Yaska’s classifica¬
tion, there are hymns containing objective descriptions* of particular
states, and, significantly enough, he cites as a specimen the cosmo-
gonical hymn X. 129: “Then there was neither death nor immor¬
tality, etc.” In the fifth category are included by Yaska the Mantras
expressive of apprehension, such as X. 95. 14: “The benevolent god
may fly forth to-day and never return.”24 Lastly, according to
Yaska, there are hymns of which the purpose is to administer
censure or praise, and as an illustration he cites that unique hymn,
namely X. 117:

1. Hunger was certainly not meant as a means of death by the

gods. For also him who has eaten his All, death befalls
in various forms;

The wealth of the liberal is never exhausted,

But the stingy person never finds a friend.

2. He who though possessing food, to the broken and begging

destitute, approaching him, refuses a morsel,

And hardens his heart against him even though he had served

him before,

he too, likewise, never finds a friend.

3. He indeed is a patron who gives to the beggar,

longing for food, wandering and thin,

Who then readily responds to his call to arms,
and also thenceforward becomes his friend.

4. He is no friend who does not give to the friend

— to Jthe comrade asking for food;

Let him turn away from him, with him there is no shelter,
rather seek shelter with a generous stranger.

5. Let the wealthier person be generous to the applicant;

let him take a longer view;

For life rolls on like the wheels of a chariot,
wealth comes now to one, now to other.

6. The food earned by the fool is in vain,

truly say I that it is death to him;

He feeds no comrade nor a friend; he eats alone and also
bears the burden of his sins alone.

7. Only when ploughing does the plough-share produce food;

only by walking can a distance be covered;

345

THE VEDIC AGE

A Brahmapa who can speak is preferable to one who cannot,
A liberal friend should be better than an illiberal one.

The hymn is packed with noble sentiments, and its every word
is charged with vigour. Yet it should not be forgotten that the
hectoring eloquence of this energetic priest was probably directed
mainly to the purpose of frightening the wealthy into ceding a part
of their wealth to the Brahmaujas especially, and not to the poor of
eve^y class, for of genuine sympathy for the poor there is not much
in the Rigveda.

Yaska’s brief and purely formal classification of the contents of
the Mantra- texts is, however, anything but satisfactory. It is true
that the main body of the hymns contains praises or prayers or both.
But from the literary point of view they should best be regarded as
lyrical poems adapted to the purpose of ritual. Of these the hymns
addressed to Heaven’s daughter Aurora (Ushas) are perhaps the
oldest and certainly the most beautiful. They have something of
the lyric beauty and love of nature of Shelley and Wordsworth,
and one cannot help feeling that they were inspired by the sight of the
sunrise over the snowclad peaks of the Himalayas. A few stanzas
of the first hymn to Ushas (I. 48) will suffice to reveal the spirit of
simple adoration in which the goddess was invoked by the FLishis:

1 . Light us up with happiness, O Ushas, daughter of heaven,

with great lustre, O radiant one, with wealth, O bountiful

goddess.

5. Like a fair maiden comes Ushas, gladdening (all),

she comes awakening four-footed beasts, and makes the birds

rise into the air.

9. O Ushas, shine with shimmering radiance, O daughter of
heaven, bringing us ample happiness, as you shew your light

upon the daily sacrifice.

10. The breath and life of the whole world is in you,

O noble one, as you shine forth;
as such, O resplendent one with towering chariot,
give ear to our cry, O bestower Of various gifts.

11. O Ushas, win then (for us) the prize that is admired among

human folk.

With that, hasten to the sacrifices of your worshippers,
the sacrificers who are chanting your praises.

14. Whoever were the Rishis of old that invoked you
for protection and support. O noble one,

Yet accept our hvmns and bestow on us a gift in token
of your satisfaction, O Ushas, with brilliant lustre.

Here it is simplicity and not greed that is begging of the goddess
gifts and more gifts. But it cannot escape even the most superficial
reader that in hvmns such as this the means that the poets have in
view for attaining their object is simply to please the deity by flatter-

346

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

in# songs and ritual sacrifices. There is no suggestion as vet of a
belief in the existence of a supreme justice from which flow all
punishment and reward. In the hymns to Varurja, however, this
sentiment is already in the horizon: The hymn to this rod by
Kurma Gartsamada “(II. 28), for example, opens in the usual flatter¬
ing tone:

1 . May this (hymn) addressed to Aditi’s son who is wise and

self-supreme excel all the existing (hymns) in greatness;
The god whom it is exceedingly pleasant to worship, —
of that affluent Varuiga do I beg glorious fame.

But the tone soon changes, and adulation turns into admiration for
god-created cosmic harmony:

4. Aditi’s son unleashed them (i.e. the rivers) and

started them on various paths,
the rivers course along in obedience to Varuga’s ordinance;
Never released are they, nor ever tired,
like birds they swiftly fly in never-ending course

(lit. round the earth).

5. Loosen the bond of sin like a girdle, O Varuga;

We shall fully conform to the rule of equity you have
ordained.

May not the thread snap while I am still weaving my prayer-
song,

may not the measuring-rod break out of season.

6. Avert terror from me, O Varinja,

be kind to me, as a righteous ruler.

Release me from anguish, as a calf from the rope;
not even for a moment can I live aSvay from you.

7. Do not strike us,- Varuna, with the weapons which, in your
search,

O Asura, destroy those who commit sin.

May we not have to bid adieu to light;

loosen the hold of the envious on us, so that we may live*
That virtue is its own reward, and, as a spiritual quality, is incom¬
mensurable in terms of material advantage, does not seem to have
been realized by the Rigvedic poets. The spirit of the people that
peeps through the thick veil of ritual pedantry is one of gladness,
aspiring ever for more, never knowing rest or contentment. Absence
of evil is not what they pray for most. Their supreme desire is to
triumph over poverty and resistance. Their chief god is Indra who
does not possess a single spiritual trait. But their minds are fresh,
and, therefore, deeply impressed by the violence of natural pheno¬
mena. Atri’s hymn (V. 83) to Parjanya (the storm-god) is perhaps
the most striking example:

347

THE VEDIC AGE

2 . He strikes down the trees, he strikes also the Rakshasas,

the whole world is afraid of (Parjanya) carrying mighty

arms.

Even the sinless quake before the bull-like god,

when Parjanya, thundering, strikes the evil-doers.

3. Like the charioteer lashing forward his horses by the whip

does he announce the messengers of rain,

Lion’s roars from a distance are heard,

When Parjanya renders rainy the sky.

4. Winds blow fast and lightnings flash,

plants shoot up and heaven swells;

Quickening showers fall for all

when Parjanya gladdens the earth with his seed.

7. Roar and thunder, sow the seed,

come flying hither in squelching car;

Turn downward the skin unbound,

so that be levelled high lands and low.

Hymns of this type are unique in world literature, for nowhere
else can the deification of natural phenomena be so clearly perceived.

Martial spirit is well reflected in hymn VI. 75, though, evidently,
it is not a real war?song, but rather a magical incantation supposed
to secure victory in battle:

1 . Like a thunder-cloud becomes his face,

when the mailed warrior plunges into the thick of battle.
Re victorious without being injured in body,
may the strength of the armour protect you.

2 . By the bow we’ll win the cattle, by the bow the battle,

by the bow shall we win the mighty struggles.

The bow destroys the enemy,

by the bow shall we conquer the regions.

3. As if to whisper the string nears the ear,

holding in embrace its dear friend (the bow);

Stretched on the bow it lisps like a girl,
this string, that helps on to victory.

The din of battle is always in the background of the Rigvedic
stage, but the poets, being for the most part priests, failed to give
anything like a true picture of it. Yet, sometimes, the priests them¬
selves were present on the battle-field. The Bharata-army suc¬
ceeded in crossing the rivers Vipai and £utudrl only when Viiva-
mitra by his eloquence persuaded them to lower their level. The
colloquy between the priest and the rivers (in. 33) is quite interest¬
ing. Says ViSvamitra:

3. To the most motherly stream have I come,

the broad and propitious Vipai have we reached;

One the other licks like the mother-cow her calf,
as in the same bed they follow their course.

348

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

Not to be taken in so easily, the rivers ask suspiciously:

4. Swollen thus with a flood of milk

do we flow along the god-created bed;

Our course, once in flow, can not be stopped:
with what object does the sage invoke us?

And Viivamitra comes pat with his request:

5. Stop in your course a moment, O true ones,

listen to my Soma-sweet speech;

An ardent prayer to you I address;

seeking help Kuiika’s son invokes you.

The rivers at last agree and express their consent with the words:

10. We shall do as you say, O poet,

since in cart and chariot you have come from afar;

To you shall I stoop as the mother swelling (with milk to her

child),

• like a maid her lover shall I obey you.

The most famous and interesting of the dialogue-hymns contained
in the yiigveda is the one (X. 95) in which the mortal Pururavas
tries blit fails to persuade the nymph Urva£l to continue to live
with him. The lure of paradise is too much for the fickle female.
She leaves her mortal lover, and her last words (verse 15) are cruel
and cynical, though not unsympathetic:

Pururavas, do not die, do not perish (?)

Let not the cruel wolves devour you;

The friendship of woman is never indeed firm,
for they are hyenas in heart.

These dialogue-hymns may be regarded as dramas in embryo
(not necessarily for the stage}. In most cases they are obscure.
But there is nothing tp justify the theory26 that the verses were
once connected by prose narrative now lost. The dialogue-hymns,
though in most cases clearly of secular origin, must have been utiliz¬
ed in some sort of ritual drama, for otherwise it is difficult to explain
their inclusion in the Samhita.

Though Rigvedic poetry is predominantly lyrical, the Samhita
contains not a single hymn that may be called a love-poem. In the
Atharvaveda, too, we have only love-charms. This is difficult to
explain, specially when so many different types of hymns of non¬
religious origin are included in the Rigveda. One of them is the
well-known and oft-quoted satirical frog-hymn (VII. 103):

1. Hibernating throughout the year

like Brahmfps observing a vow,

Animated by the divine Parjanya

the frogs are now croaking loudly.

2. When heavenly showers fall on them,

lying in a pond like shrivelled skins,

349

THE VEDIC AGE

Like the lowing of cows for their calves,
sound the voices of frogs in unison.

3. When showers fall on longing creatures

and slake their thirst at the start of the rainy season,
With rapture in the voice, like the son his father,
they greet each other without cessation.

5 . One repeats the word of another,

like students echoing the voice of the teacher;

Together they form a chorus,

when at rain-fall l&udly they croak.

Another remarkable hymn of non-religious origin is the merry song
by £i£u Angirasa (IX. 112) with the refrain '‘flow O Soma for Indra’s
sake”.

1. Diverse indeed are our aims,

different are the tasks of men,

The builder seeks for cracks, leeches for the sick,
and priests are greedy for sacrifices.

2 . With seasoned timber of ancient trees

and the feathers of birds,

The goldsmith seeks those who possess gold,
ready with his furnaces and precious gems.

3. A bard I am, my father a leech,

and my mother is a grinder of com;

Diverse in means, but all wishing wealth,
equally we strive for cattle.

The fourth and concluding verse is coarse in expression, fore¬
shadowing verses of the same brand in the Atharvaveda . This hymn
is of particular importance also for the light which it thro.ws upon
the caste-system in the Rigvedic age, for it shows clearly that pro¬
fessions were not yet determined by birth. But there was already
a fully developed class-system dating from the Indo-Iranian epoch,
as is unavoidable in every society that has outgrown the savage
state; and inevitably the professions in the Rigvedic class-system
already showed a distinct tendency to become hereditary.

Dasa princes like Sambara, Dhuni, Chumuri, Pipru, and Varchin
have been actually mentioned by the Rigvedic poets, but it is signi¬
ficant that, as a rule, Indra himself has been made to combat them
ou his own initiative and not in course of rendering merely routine
assistance to Aryan chiefs.26 For it shows that even in the heyday
of Rigvedic culture there was no longer a living memory of the first
encounters with the aboriginal races.27 At the time of the Battle
of the Ten Kings (dasarajna) , however, which is the central event
of the history of the period (ante, p. 250) when the Aryan tribes
began to feel themselves secure enough to indulge in the luxury of
fighting each other, Indra is invoked only to render aid, but not to
lead the onslaught. This significant difference in the treatment of

350

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

previous and contemporary events would seem to suggest that the
priestly poets of the Rigvedic age were not without a semblance of
historical sense.

On the other hand, the hymns, which in the absence of anything
better . are taken to be historical poems, namely the Danastutis
(psalms in praise of munificence), are generally made-to-order pe¬
destrian compositions without any historical data of real value.
Generally they are sets of three to five verses appended to a hymn
of the usual type. Only one hymn (I: 126) is entirely a Danastuti,
and that one is perhaps the worst in the Rigveda:

1 . No bad hymns am I offering by exerting my intellect
In praise of Bhavya ruling on the Indus,

Who assigned to me a thousand sacrifices,

The incomparable king desirous of fame.

2. A hundred gold pieces from the fame-seeking king
Together with a hundred horses as a present have I received,
I, Kakshivant, obtained also a hundred cows from my master,
Who exalted thereby his fame immortal up to heaven.

3. Dark horses given by Svanaya, and

Ten chariots carrying slave-girls fell to my share;

Followed a herd of sixty thousand cows,

All this as sacrificial fee did Kakshivant receive at the end

of the session.

4. Forty ruddy horses of the set of ten chariots
Are heading the column of a thousand cows;

Fiery steeds decorated with pearls

Have the Kakshivants and Pajras received.

5. After the first gift, I received

Three chariots and eight cows capable of nourishing even a
rich patron

For you, my good relations, who, as dan-fellows,

Driving in chariots, hankered for fame.28
This dismal hymn ends with two more verses notable only for their
extreme obscenity. It is in these Danastutis that Brahmanical
greed appears in its worst aspect in the Rigveda.

Scarcely less debased than the Danastutis are the Apri-hymns,29
manufactured artificially for employment in animal-sacrifice. Every
priestly family has its own Aprx-hymn, and all of them (ten alto¬
gether) are constructed in the same pattern. Eleven different
deities and deity-groups in as many different verses have been in¬
voked in each Aprl-hymn in the same order. Only in regard to the
Second deity there is evident uncertainty, for in four Apri-hymns it
i£ Tanunapat, in four other Naraiamsa, and in the first two Apri-
hymns we find as second deity both Tanunapat and Naraiamsa, each
with a verse for himself. Moreover at the end of the second Apri-

351 l

THE VEDIC AGE

hymn, there is a special verse invoking Indra. Thus the first Apri-
hymn consists of twelve, the second of thirteen and each of the rest
of eleven verses. The AprI-hymns, though of no literary value, are
of immense importance for the history of Vedic religion. They
prove ^conclusively, that also in the oldest period, as at later epochs,
ritual had never been fully standardized. There is no reason to
doubt that these hymns were actually used at animal-sacrifices as
tradition maintains. But there is nothing in the Apri-hymns to
suggest that in the Rigvedic period the animals sacrificed were re¬
garded as substitutes for the sacrifices themselves as was the case in
later ritual.29*

The funeral hymns too seem to have been composed specially
for ritual purposes, but they contain truly noble sentiments. As
cremation and burial were both in vogue, we have both burial and
cremation hymns* But the character of the respective hymns leaves
scarcely any doubt that burial was the earlier custom. It is signi¬
ficant that the deceased, if a man, still holds a bow in his hand,
which the priest takes away from him at the time of burial with the
words (X. 18. 9):

The bow I take from the hand of the deceased
for our power and glory and strength:

Even there where you lie may we as good heroes
repulse all the attacks of the foes.

The martial spirit of the Vedic Aryans finds truest expression in
this verse. Even at the moment of death the thought supreme in
their minds is that of war. Twice in the IjLigveda. man has been
called mxityub.andhu “regarding death as a relation.” The Rigvedic
Indians were passionately fond of life, but they were not afraid of
death. A gentler but more sophisticated spirit is revealed by the
cremation-hymn X. 16:

1. Do not burn him, Agni, do not scorch him either,

do not tear asunder his skin or body;

When you have devoured him, O Jatavedas,
then do you send him on to the Fathers.

2. When you have devoured him, O Jatavedas,

then do you give him over to the Fathers;

When he reaches the other world of the dead,
then may he obey the will of the gods.

3. Let the eye go to the sun, let the breath go to the wind;

to heaven or to earth according to their desert;

Or to waters go, if that is your lot,

or set you up in the plants with your limbs.

The last verse is of special interest for various reasons. Pantheism
of a primitive variety is discernible in the first line. The second
line suggests the idea of retribution though as yet far short of the
philosophical- doctrine of Karma. Belief in a life after death is also

332

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

revealed in this verse, but there is no suggestion as yet of belief in
neli or rebiriii. The first occurs only in the Atharvaveda , and the
second clearly appears for the first time in the Upanishads.

Quite a number of philosophical hymns are contained in the
Rigveda, and they have been often discussed and translated.30 An
important point to note in this connection is, however, that the terms
may a and rupa — on which hinges the whole of later Vedanta philo¬
sophy — have been used already in the Rigveda precisely in their
Vedanta sense.31 “Rupa” in the Rigveda never signifies real form,
but only the transient and deceptive appearance; and “maya” in
most passages has been used to signify only that occult power by
means of which the deceptive appearance can* be assumed or dis¬
carded.1 2 3 4 5 6^ If the doctrine of may a and rupa is the essence of Ve¬
danta (end of Veda), then it may as well be called Vedadi (begin¬
ning of Veda).

Nowhere in ancient literature have the gods been more con¬
cretely conceived as in the Rigveda, but the same Rigveda also re¬
veals the fact that already there were some who would believe in the
existence even of Indra, the most concrete of the Vedic pantheon.
Quite in the strain of “O God, if there be a God,” a poet in the Rig¬
veda makes this astonishing remark (VIII. 100. 3):

Chant the hymn, striving for strength,

unto Indra the truthful, if indeed he exists.

One says to other, “Indra does not exist,

who has him seen? whom shall I praise?”

But in the next verse is heard already the voice of Kpishpa in
the Bhagavadgita. For Indra replies:

Here am I, look at Me, O singer,
all beings I excel in greatness;

Behests of the cosmic order magnify Me,

for I rend the worlds when I am bent on rending them.

The Rigvedic conception of concrete gods will be dealt with more
fully in Chapter XVIII.

1. As. for example, the rise of the cerebral series and the levelling of short diph¬
thongs.

2. Gilbert Murray says of the Iliad: “We often find, too, that descriptive phrases
are not used so accurately to fit the thing described. They are caught up
ready made from a store of such things: perpetual epithets, front halves of
lines, back halves of lines, whole lines, if need be, and long formulae. The
stores of the poets were full and brimming. A b^rd need only put in his hand
and choose out a well-sounding phrase. Even the similes are ready-made.**

( The Rise of the Greek Epic, second ed.f p. 2*^8). All this may be maintained,
mutatis mutandis, also of ‘Rigvedic poetry.

3. In the days of Panini, whom I place in the fifth cenfcurv B.C., Sanskrit was still
a living language of some sort. But in the days of the grammarian Pataajali
:t must have become more or less like Latin in mediaeval Italy. In any case,
Sanskrit had ceased to be a iring language long before the dayr of A&oka.
Cf. Keith. HSL, pp. 8-17.

4. See Wackerna^cl, Altindische Grainmat.ik . I, 8 191c.

5. I take this to be the meaning of the well-known passage; te'eufd helayz helaya
it t parahabhuvuh.

6. Cf. Wackemage), op. cit., I 8 192c 8 193a.

353

THE VEDIC AGE

7. Ibid., p. xv. See however MacdoneU, Vedic Grammar, § 482e.

8. CHI, I, p. 77. . ■

8a. Thus in sandhi the final ~n has been throughout reduplicated after a snort
vowel when the following word begins with a vowel. But in the older parts
the reduplication fits in with the metre only in those cases in which the final
-n had been originally followed by a consonant. (See my Linguistic Introduc¬
tion to Sanskrit, p. 57.)

9. See Rikprdtiidkkya, XVII. 39.

10. If c hkardis is etymologically connected with Engl, shield, as it is supposed to
be, then of course the r-form must be regarded as original. But this etymology
is anything but certain.

11. It must be clearly understood . that the written text, everywhere and in every
case, truly represents the text as it was when it was finally fixed. It is mis¬
leading only in the sense that ii does not everywhere give the text in its
original form.. See Oldenberg, Prolegomena, p. 372, fn. 2.

11a. For the few instances of non-sandhi between Padanta and Padadi in the
mitten text though sandhi was possible, see Rikprdtisakhya, II. 60 ff.

12. See Wackernagel, op. tit., Ill, $ 22b.

13. The form in which the word has been handed down is ushfrdnam. Non-cere-
bralization of a however shows that, in actual pronunciation it was ushtemdm.

14. See my Linguistic Introduction to Sanskrit, pp. 133-2.

15. See MacdoneU. Vedic Grammar, p. 324, fn. 2.

16. See Thumb, Handbnch des Sanskrit, § 425 Anm.

17. MacdoneU, ibid., § 413b.

18. On this point see particularly Oldenberg, Prolegomena, pp. 268-70.

19. See Wackernagel, op; citv III, p. 214.

20. Ibid., p. 519.

21. Collected in Rikprdtisakhya , IV. 98. These archaic forms, too, have been
throughout misrepresented in the Fadapatha.

22. See my Linguistic Introduction to Sanskrit, p. 45.

23. Without trying to be literal, I have tried in these translations to convey the
sense of the original as accurately as possible.

24. So this much-discussed, but still obscure, verse has been translated by Laksh-
man Sarup, The Nighantu and The Nirukta, English trans., p. 114.

25. Suggested by Oldenberg, ZDMG, XXXIX, pp. 52 ft*.

26. At least one Dasa chief, however, namely Baibutha, had adopted Aryan culture
and even patronized Brahmana singers (see Rig red a, VIII. 46. 32).

27. This is a fresh argument in favour of dating the first Aryan invasion of India
earlier and not later than the middle of the second millennium B.C.

28. The fifth stanza is obscure; only a literal translation has been attempted.

29. A brief account of the Apri-hymns has been given by Max MiilJer, HASL,
second edition, revised, pp. 463-7.

29a. In later Vedic ritual, the animal sacrificed is throughout regarded as a sur¬
rogate victim which the initiated person has to immolate in order to obtain
release from his vow.

30. See Wintemitz, HIL, I, pp. 97 if.

31. It is curious that this fact has not yet been properly emphasized by any modem
investigator.

32. Also in the Avesta the word mdyd has a similar meaning, but the point has
yet to be properly investigated.

354

CHAPTER XVII

POLITICAL AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS

I. POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS

As a general rule, monarchy was the system of government
prevailing in this age. The term Rdjan , king or chieltain, is of
frequent occurrence in the Rigveda. The country which the Vedic
Aryans occupied was split up into numerous tribal principalities.
One passage of the Rigveda (1. 126. 1) speaks of a king living on the
bank of the Sindhu, and another (VIII. 21. 18) refers to a king Chitra
and other nobles as residing in the neighbourhood of the river
Sarasvati. Ten kings are described as having fought in the historic
battle against Sudas {ante, p. 250). In the Danastutis and elsewhere,
a very large number of rajas are also mentioned. These passages
leave no doubt that the form of government was normally monar¬
chical, the tribe as a political unit being under a single ruler. This,
of course, is to be expected from the patriarchal organization of
Aryan society and from the state of constant warfare with their
neighbours (aboriginal and not rarely Aryan), which was a normal
feature of the life of the Vedic Aryans.

But in the Rigveda we come across terms which in later times
were undoubtedly applied to non-monarchical constitutions. Thus
we have references to the gana with the ganapati or j yeshtha
(elder) at its head. The last probably corresponds to the jefthaka
of the Pali texts, and it is not impossible that there were even in
this early period, the germs of the republican states of the type we
meet with in early Buddhist times1 (cf. vol. II, ch. I).

The passages cited above also show that, generally speaking, the
kingdoms were small in extent and were units of a single tribe.
Whether the confederacy of the Five Tribes who attacked Sudas
actually involved a system of political organization or some sort of
political collaboration cannot be definitely determined. But it is
not altogether unlikely. One passage in Rigveda (VIII. 5. 38) speaks
of king Kasu making a gift of ten kings to a Rishi (sage) and other
passages (II. 41. 5; V. 62. 6) represent Mitra and Varuna as occupy¬
ing a spacious palace with a thousand pillars and a thousand gates.
Even allowing for poetic exaggeration, the description postulates
the existence of a royal palace of imposing proportions, and neces¬
sarily presupposes a fairly large kingdom that could boast of a
capital capable of accommodating a palace of such dimensions. We
have again to admit that the size of some kingdoms at least was
large enough to enable the rulers to command that affluence which
is so often described in the Danastutis.2 The presents conferred

355

THE VEDIC AGE

by the kings on their priests were gorgeous, ample, and varied. They
consisted of cows numbering thousands at times, of horses, chariots,
blocks of gold, dresses and beautifully attired female slaves. Hence
the wealth possessed at least by some of these rulers was conside¬
rable.

Further, it is interesting to note that we meet with the ex¬
pression Samrdf, which meant an “emperor” in later days, and
also the idea of a universal monarch (visvasya bhuvanasya raja).3

In any case, the king occupied a position of high dignity and
supremacy which was emphasized by a formal consecration and
laudatory hymns. He wore a gorgeous robe, and his palace, what¬
ever its dimensions, undoubtedly surpassed in grandeur the com¬
mon dwellings of the people. On the whole the J ligveda leaves no
doubt that the king was no longer merely a leader of a primitive
tribe, but occupied a position of pre-eminence which was deliberate¬
ly distinguished in all possible ways from the rest of the people.

The lines of kingly succession that we can trace in the RV raise
the presumption of hereditary kingship as the normal system, but
there is clear evidence that when the situation demanded it, visah
(settlements) who constituted the r&shtra (national unit) could select
a worthy monarch of their own choice from among the members of
the royal family or of the nobility (the rdjanyas). Geldner4 holds
that passages like X. 124.8 that are generally cited to establish the
selection of a king by the settlements merely indicate their formal
sanction ot a fait accompli. But the very fact of this formal sanc¬
tion presupposes that the right of selection was exercised by the
subjects some time earlier.

Two assemblies called sabhd and samiti formed an essential
feature of the government. The term sabhd is often mentioned in the
Rigveda (VI. 28. 6; Y7II. 4. 9, etc.), and denotes both “the people in
conclave” and the “hall” which was the venue of their meeting. Since,
however, the sabhd was used for the game of dice (X. 34. 6), it is clear
that even non-political business could be transacted at the hall or
by the people who constituted the sabhd. That it was a gathering
of the elect, i.e. of Brahmanas and the rich patrons, when it was
convened for administrative purposes, is clear from the term
Sabheya, “worthy of the assembly,” as applied to a Brahmana
(II. 24. 13). The swmiti in the sense of an “Assembly” of the Ve-
dic tribe is mentioned in the Rigveda (I. 98. 8; IX. *92. 6, etc.).
According to Ludwig,'5 the samiti was a more comprehensive confe¬
rence including not only all the common people {visah) but also Brah-
magas and rich patrons ( maghavan ). Although it is difficult to
distinguish between a sabhd and a samiti, we can provisionally
arrive at some tentative conclusions. It appears that the samiti
was an august assembly of a larger group of the people for the
discharge of tribal (i.e. political) business and was presided over

356

POLITICAL AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS

by the king. The sabhd, a more select body, was less popular and
political in character than the samiti. Although the functions
and powers of sabha and samiti cannot be exactly defined, numer¬
ous passages referring to them clearly indicate that both these
Assemblies exercised considerable authority and must have acted
as healthy checks on the power of the king. Great importance
was attached, not only to concord between the king and the
Assembly, but also to a spirit of harmony among the members of
the Assembly. The last hymn of the Rigveda invokes such unity
in solemn and beautiful language:

“Assemble, speak together; let your minds be all of one accord*'

v v v

“The place is common, common the assembly, common the
mind, so be their thoughts united.”

*•*

‘ One and the same be your resolve, and be your minds of one
accord

“United be the thoughts of all that may happily agree.”

The royal authority was also materially curbed by the power
and prestige of the Purohita, who accompanied the king to battle
ip. 348) and helped him with prayers and spells, and the influence
ox the priesthood generally, to which the Dancistutis bear indirect
testimony. The cases of Yasishfha and Visvamitra are noteworthy
in this connection. Special reference may also be made to the
following verses (RVf IV. 50. 7-9):

i.7) That king, indeed, overpowers all opposing forces with
his valour and might who maintains Brihaspati (the Brahmana
priest) well attended, and praises and honours him as (a deity)
deserving the first share (of the homage due);

<8j He (that king) verily abides, well established in his own
place; to him, the holy fnnd flows for ever; to him the visah bow
down of their own accord, the king wiiK whom the Brahmana
takes precedence.

(9, Irresistible, he wins the riches of his enemies ana h\s kins¬
men; the king who affords protection to the Brahmana desnin^
help — him the gods help.

There is hardly any material difference between the power of
the Brahmana ( Brihaspati) over the king as described in this passage
and the power of the Purohita over a king, which is associated in
our minds with the later stages of political history when the caste
system was fully developed.

The immigrant Aryans had necessarily to carry on bitter and
prolonged fights with the indigenous people called the Dasas or
Dasyus. But there was no attempt at the extermination of the
conquered foes. The process of amalgamation of the invaders
with the conquered aborigines took the form of intermarriage and

357

v.A.-«a

THE VEDIC AGE

the absorption of the latter into the fourth ^and occasionally inLo
me tnuu; vary a or social class. The translation .of the word ddsa
by “slave'’ nas led to tne misconception that the conquered abori¬
gines, both male and female, “were enslaved.”11 Ddsa does mean a
“JUie-iong servant,” but the horrors associated with the term
“slavery” are not to be thought of in this connection. Similarly
tiie so-called female slaves ( dasis ), captured or received as gifts by
kings, were liie-iong servants assigned generally to the harems of
kings in later times. There is, however, no recorded instances in
the RV or later literature of the harsh or cruel treatment of a ddsa
or dasi, which is generally associated with slavery.

The protection of the people was the sacred duty of the king.
In return he expected and received loyal obedience from his sub¬
jects. The word ball occurs several times in the RV in the sense
of a tribute or offering to a god (I. 70. 9; V. 1. 10, etc.). In the
sense of a tribute to the king it is met witii in the compound bali-
hrit, “paying tribute” tVII. 6. 5; X. 173. 6j. The tributes were
probably received in kind from the subjects. Whether these were
voluntary or involuntary, and thus amounted to a kind of indirect
taxation, is a debatable point. The truth seems to be that the
tribesmen who were led to victory and safety by their ruler volun¬
tarily showered presents on their leader; and that these became
more or less regular and periodical in times of peace and to that
extent less voluntary. There seems to be little doubt, however,
that the hostile tribes defeated in battle were forced to pay some
kind of ball or tribute to the victor. There thus seems to be in
existence taxation, both of the voluntary and involuntary type, in
the days of the Rigveda. If in a simile in RV, I. 65. 4 the king is
described as “devouring the people.” it is not to be understood in
the sense of “oppression of the people” but rather his "living on
them.” The king was not the mvnor of the land. Even when the
Ddnastutis speak of generous gifts by the kings to the priests, they
are normally articles of personal property rather than land.

The king was pre-eminently the war-lord and RV gives us
some idea of the mode of warfare. The king and his nobles (the
rajanya or Kshatriya class) fought from chariots, and the common
people on foot. The knowledge of battle arrays of different types
may he inferred from the use of certain terms such as sardha. vrat a.
gaya, etc. which probably denoted different military units. As in
later days, we hear of martial music and banners in connection
with battle. The principal weapon was the bow and arrow. The
arrows were tipped with points of metal or poisoned horn. Other
weapons were lances, spears, axes, swords, and sling-stones. The
use of (leather?) guards to save the hands and arms from the fric¬
tion of the bow-string, as also a coat-of-mail and helmet, characte¬
rized the equipment of a warrior. Horse-riding was known. It

358

POLITICAL AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS

is difficult to agree with the scholars who hold that no mention is
made of the use of cavalry in war. As to the actual mode of war¬
fare, all we can infer from passages like RV, II. 12. 8 is that a body
of foot-soldiers marched along with the charioteers, the two to¬
gether constituting the army. If Sayapa’s interpretation of X.
142. 4 is accepted, then besides ordinary wars of defence and con¬
quest, raids into neighbouring territory were frequent and , normal
for winning booty which the king shared with the people. Ram¬
parts or forts (pur), which were either of stone or metal ( dyasi
pur), and sometimes consisted of an enclosure protected by a pali¬
sade consisting only of a hedge of thorn or a row of stakes, were
used as places of refuge against attack in times of war. The me¬
thod of laying siege in RV days was probably by setting fire to the
surrounding palisades or walls (VII. 5. 3). But mention is also
made of pur charishnu (lit. moving fort) which may be a sort of
engine for assaulting strongholds. Reference has been made
above pp. 348) to hymns breathing a martial spirit.

2. ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATION

The “Five Peoples” (pancha jandh) was perhaps a comprehen¬
sive term for the Vedic Aryans (ante, p. 251). These five peoples
were split up into numerous tribes, the tribe being the political unit
(as mentioned above). The Vis (a term the various senses7 of which
have puzzled many scholars) played a vital part in the political
organization.

In a political sense, the members of a tribal unit were the visah
constituting the rashlra (or tribal kingdom). Below the vis came
the grama or- village, which was the basic administrative unit. Re¬
ference is also sometimes made to j ana, another unit whose precise
nature is not known.8 The administrative organization was essen¬
tially rural in conception. The grama was practically self-contain¬
ed, and had for purposes of defence a fortified enclosure (pur) on
an eminence. These enclosures, as mentioned above, were made
of stone (sometimes probably also of iron) and had many walls.
Towns with wooden walls or palisades and ditches all round were
undoubtedly known, but played practically no part in the econo¬
mic life of the people. They figured only in the defensive warfare
of the Vedic Aryans and were occupied (it seems) during emer¬
gencies by the warrior-class.

The grama was probably made up of little knots of houses of
the several branches of one family (Kula). The part played by
the Kula in the administrative organization is perhaps indicated
by the description (X. 179. 2-3) of a Kulapd (guardian of the family),
forming the entourage of a vrajapati (probably the same as the
gramanV and fighting under his banner. The grdmaryL exercised,
it seems, both civil and military functions. The Senani. whose

359

THE VEDIC AGE

•military authority in times of war is undeniable, probably dis¬
charged civil functions in times of peace, ranking higher than the
grdmani. In the description of the Ddsardjna light (VII. 18. 11)
Sudas is said to have overthrown “the twenty-one tribes (janan)
of the kings or folk of the two Vaikarnas,” It is probable that they
were a joint people, the Kuru-Krivis. It is doubtful, however,
whether this aggregate of twenty-one janas represented a political
and administrative organization higher than a jana.

Of the various functionaries of the king, the most important
appear to be the Purohita and the Sendni referred to above. The
king probably appointed a large number of priests to perform the
sacrifices and other sacred rites. There are also references to spies
(spasa) who were apparently engaged by him, as in later days, to
secure information about the kingdom and the people. We also
hear of dutas or messengers who- were undoubtedly the principal
means of communication between the different states. The king
had no doubt other officers, but we have no detailed knowledge of
them.

3. LAW AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS

The regular word for law or custom in the RV (I. 22. 18; 164.
43, 50; III. 3. 1; 17. 1; 60. 6; V. 26. 6; 63. 7; 72. 2, etc.) is Dharman,
but there are very few data as regards the administration of justice
or the code of law followed. We can only infer from later practice
that the king administered justice with the assistance of legal ad¬
visers including the Purohita.

Theft, burglary, highway robbery, and cheating (chiefly at
gambling) are among the crimes recorded, cattle-lifting at night
being a very frequent one. Marriage of brother and sister was
looked upon as incest Tying the criminal to a stake was a com¬
mon form of punishment. The epithet ^ataddya, i.e. “one, the
price of whose blood was one hundred (coins)” shows that the
system of wergeld ( Vairadeya ) or blood-money was probably in
force. Whereas death was one of the punishments for theft in
later times, it was not so in the Rigvedic age. The aim seems ra¬
ther to have been the satisfaction of the person wronged.

Geldner9 suggests that a heated paraiu (axe) used as an ordeal
is referred to in RV, III. 53. *22, and Ludwig10 thinks that RV, I.
158. 4 ff., refer to Dlrghatamas having been subjected to the fire
and water ordeals. These are quite plausible suggestions, though
no definite conclusions are possible.

Riva (debt) is frequently mentioned in the RV though in a
metaphorical sense in the majority of passages where it occurs.
Indebtedness seems to be a fairly well-known condition. There was
a special term rinam sam-ni for paying off a debt. The loan (rvna)
thus was the only contract known and that, chiefly, at gambling. A

360

POLITICAL AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS

debtor was punished with a period of servitude to the creditor and
was bound by the creditor to a post ( dru-pada ) to bring pressure
on him for payment. Some kind of reference to a rate of interest
or instalment of principal may be traced in one passage, but this
is not certain. The interest was presumably paid in kind. The
hymn disapproves of the practice.

right of a father to adopt is clearly recognized, though a Vasishtha
The land was probably owned by individuals and families, and
the proprietorship was vested in the father, as head of the family.
It is not certain whether the sons had any share in the land of the
family during their father’s lifetime. If there were several sons,
they could easily secure new allotments, if necessary, because as
fresh land could be easily obtained, the problem was not, in any
sense, an acute one.

The individual ownership of land is, however, a debatable point.
The RV supplies the following data. A piece of ploughland is in¬
dicated in the RV by the words urvara and Jcshetra (I. 127. 6; IV.
41. 6; V. 33. 4- VI. 25. 4; X. 30. 3; 142. 3, etc.). A passage (I. 110.
5) shows that fields were carefully measured from which it follows
that individual ownership in land for cultivation was recognized.
The same conclusion follows from VIII. 91. 5 in which Apala refers
to her father’s field urvara as a personal possession. This conclusion
agrees well with the use of epithets like urvara-sa, urvara-jit, kshetra-
sd ‘‘winning fields,” and the mention of fields in the same context
as children (IV. 41. 6).

Nothing definite can be averred as to whether a grown-up son
continued to stay with his father, his wife becoming a member of
the father’s household, or whether he established a house of his
own. Variations in local custom probably explain discrepant
statements in this connection. Similarly, we do not know whether
the son was granted a special plot of land after marriage, or whether
he acquired it only after his father’s death. But we must not form
an exaggerated estimate of the control of the father over a son, no
longer a minor, because RV. I. 70. 10 suggests that the sons might
divide their father’s property in his old age, and X. 85. 46 gives a
hint that the aged father-in-law passed under the control of his
son’s wife. The suggestion that separate holdings existed as early
as the Rigvedic days is confirmed by the name of the deity fcshe-
trasya pati (Lord of the Field) to be understood as the gcd presid¬
ing over each field.

1. This view has been put forward by Dr. H. C. Raychaudhuri, Advanced History
of India (Macmillan & Co.), p. 29.

2. For Ddnastutis, cf. Ch. XVI.

3. Advanced History of India, p. 29.

4. Ved. Stud., II, 303.

5. Translation of the Rigveda, III, pp. 253-6.

6. CHI, I, p. 85.

361

THE VEDIC AGE

7. (1) In a geographical sense, the term means “settlement or colonies,” and a
group of these settlements or colonies probably made up the j ana (people)
(cf. the next footnote). (2) Politically the visah were the subjects who consti¬
tuted the rashtra and who, foregathering in a formal assembly, could in an
emergency unseat an incapable ruler or set the seal of approval on the corona¬
tion of a worthy one. (3) In a socio-religious sense, the visah. represented the
third class of Aryan society engaged in agriculture and commerce. (4) No
wonder that in some passages, it should have the fourth or general sense of
“people.”

8. Sometimes Vis, jana and even grama are used almost synonymously, But
grama was normally a smaller unit than the vis or jana. The relation between
these two is not quite clear. Dr. H. C. Raychaudhuri observes as follows: “In
some Vedic passages there is a clear contrast between the two, :and Iranian
analogies seem to suggest that the Vis is a sub-division of a jana, if tre latter
may be taken as a parallel to the Iranian Zaniu. It is also to be noted that the
Bharatas are referred to as a single jana, but when the word Vis is used in
reference to them, we have the plural Visah possibly pointing to the existence
of plurality of such units” (Advanced History, p. 29).

9. Ved. Stud., n, 159.

10. Translation of the Rigveda, IV, 44.

362

CHAPTER XVIII

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

As has already been indicated above (Ch. XII), the differeht parts
of the JFLigveda-Samhita were composed at different times, and it
should be regarded, not as a single text by one author, but rather
as a whole literature accumulating for centuries, a library, as it
were, in the making for years. Nay, although the hymns of the
Rigveda represent, in the main, the product of that period of intel¬
lectual activity when the Aryans found their way into India from
their original home, it is not beyond the realm of probability that
some of them were composed, or at least existed in the minds of
the Aryan poets, even before they entered India. It is thus pos¬
sible that a few stanzas or even hymns are reminiscent of the
meteorological and astronomical conditions that obtained thousands
of years ago, somewhere outside India. No wonder then, that we
should find in the Rigveda thoughts, beliefs, and practices that one
would associate with the most primitive grades of society and with
an unsophisticated age, side by side with an elaborate sacrificial
technique and advanced metaphysical speculation indicating the
deepest apprehension of the godhead and its relation to man. The
view, therefore, that the state of religious belief in the RV is a pro¬
duct of priestly effort and amounts to wholesale syncretism is as
wrong as the one that it presents us with nothing else but a naive
outpouring of the primitive religious consciousness.

I. MYTHOLOGY

1. Origin

Let us therefore draw up a clear picture of the religious con¬
ceptions and philosophical thoughts revealed in poetic garb in the
RV, in the order of their evolution, as far as possible, before attempt¬
ing to label, define or classify them. The RV poets were deeply
affected by the apparently mysterious working of the awe-inspir¬
ing forces of nature. Their hymns reflect in places that primitive
attitude of mind which looks upon all nature as a living presence,
or an aggregate of animated entities. The luminaries who follow
a fixed course across the sky are the devas (lit., the shining ones)
or gods. Naturally the sense of the dependence of human welfare
on the powers of nature, the unexplained mysteries of whose work¬
ing invests them with almost a “supernatural” or divine character,
finds its expression in various forms of worship.

At the same time, the attempt of the human mind, more poetic
than scientific, to account for the various forces and phenomena of

363

THE VEDIC AGE

nature with which man is confronted, leads to the rise of myths.
When the imagination interprets a natural event as the action of
a personified being resembling a human agent, a myth is born. The
creative fancy of the Rigvedic poets goes on adding new touches
to the picture, so that a natural phenomenon ultimately appears
as a drama of human passions and not as an unintelligible and
chaotic happening. The stage of anthropomorphism is thus reach¬
ed. . Although Rigvedic mythology is not as primitive as some
scholars once believed it to be, in no other literary monument of
the world do we come across this primitive phase of the evolution
of religious beliefs which reveals to us the very process of per¬
sonification by which natural phenomena developed into gods. The
myths that have grown up around a deity are in many cases trans¬
parent enough to keep the physical basis almost, in full view all
the time. The name of the god often hides but little. Neverthe¬
less* in cases where such a clear view of the original nature of a
god is not possible, the etymological equations of comparative my¬
thology have not proved to be the reliable guides that they were
once supposed to be.

The closely allied mythology of the Iranians is illuminating
at times, but mythological affinities are not as numerous as one
would be led to expect from the striking linguistic affinity of the
oldest form of the Avesta with the Rigvedic dialect in vocabulary,
metre, syntax, diction, and general poetic spirit, the reason being
the considerable overhauling of mythological conceptions in Iran
by the religious reform of Zarathustra (ante, p. 226). The Rigveda
is a monument of Indo-European mythology and, in this respect, is
equalled in importance only by Greek mythology. The Rigvedic
mythology thus forms a connecting link between the later Indian
phase of religious beliefs and the Indo-Iranian as well as the earliest
Indo-European phase.

We now turn to the lines of mythological evolution within
the Rigveda. In the hymns to the Dawn, the Sun and the Fire,
among others, we are face to face with the corresponding physical
phenomena exercising directly their beneficent powers. The pro¬
cess of personification next makes gradual progress, and the personi¬
fied phenomenon is deified, and thus emerge the concrete figures
of Ushas, Surya, and Agni with whom the poet holds, as it were,
direct communion. We are not so fortunate in the case of the
greatest figures of the Rigvedic pantheon, namely Varuna and
Indra, regarding whose physical basis no certain conclusions have
yet been arrived at. But in the case of a large , number of Rigve¬
dic gods, we are able to trace the original forces or events in Nature.
Where the personification does not dominate the conception, the
name of the deity is identical with that of the natural phenomenon,
as in the case of Ushas and Surya. Where the names differ, the

364

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

personification has evidently advanced to the stage of anthropo¬
morphism and apotheosis. The number of gods is now on the
increase, the increase being due either to some striking attribute
abstracted from the concrete personality of a deity and founding
the conception of a new deity which develops independently, as
in the case of Savitri, or to an abstraction (like Visvakarman)
taking up a concrete form later through association with some cos¬
mic function or natural power.

2. The Nature and Classification of Gods

Although the divine rank thus got swollen, there is no fixed
order of seniority among the gods, as in a pantheon, in the strict
sense of the term. For too many functions, powers, and offices
are held in common by two or more deities. There is a sort of
communism or democracy among them, though it is not thorough¬
going or consistent, and for this “the belief in individual gods alter¬
nately regarded as the highest” (i.e. Henotheiim or Kathenothe-
ism as Max Muller has named it) is responsible. The particular
deity that the poet happens to be invoking monopolizes, for the
time being, all the attributes. The god is addressed for the mo¬
ment as if he were the greatest and even the only god. Almost
in the same breath, however, (in the very next stanza or hymn)
this mighty god is described as dependent on others.

In fact, the joint exercise of various powers, functions, and
notable deeds by two or more or all the gods is almost a favourite
theme in the Rigveda hymnologv. In a thoroughly impartial spirit,
the mutual co-operation, interdependence, and subordination of the
various deities .in pairs or larger groups is often described. There
is hardly a god in the Rigveda so insignificant as not to receive
homage from others not excluding the highest. “Henotheism,” in
the strict sense of the term, is not to be thought of because the
divine host of the Rigveda is not a pantheon (technically speaking)
with an acknowledged overlord. Various explanations have been
offered to account for this apparently inconsistent evaluation of
divine ranks and dignities in the Rigveda. It has been urged, for
example, that the inconsistency may be due to the partiality of a
particular Rishi or Vedic Scikhci to a particular god. But the force
of this argument is considerably weakened by the large number
or Rigvedic repetitions and (on the whole) their even distribution
throughout the text. As Bloomfield observes, “no theory as to
the character and. origin of the Rigveda can pass by these facts.
They- mark the entire mantra-literature as in a sense epigonal and
they forbid pungent theories about profound differences between
the family books, their authors, and their geographical provenance.”1

It has also been contended, as Macdonell13 points out, that “in
the frequent hymns addressed to the Visvedevas or All-gods, ail

365

THE VEDIC AGE

the deities, even the lesser ones, are praised in succession, and that
as the great mass of the Vedic hymns was composed for the ritual
of the Soma-offering, which included the worship of almost the
entire pantheon, the technical priest could not but know the exact
relative position of each god in that ritual.” This explanation
rests on the unwarranted assumption that the ritualists of a later
age, when sacrificial technique was enormously developed, had to,
and could, preserve very scrupulously the mythological values of
Rigvedic poetry.

Another approach to the problem of introducing order and
system into this apparent chaos has been through classification.
There is, first of all, the traditional classification hinted at in RV,

I. 139- 11 and followed by Yaska, giving us a triple division of «
the Vedic gods corresponding to the three orders, namely, terres¬
trial (prithivisthana) , aerial or intermediate ( antarikshasthana or
madhyamasthana) and celestial (dyusthana) . Prithivi, Agni, Soma,
Brihaspati, and the rivers belong to the first order; Indra, Apam-
napat, Itudra, Vayu-Vata, Parjanya, Apah, and Matarisvan to the
second; and Dyaus, Varuna, Mitra, Surya, Savitri, Pushan, Vishnu,
the Adityas, Ushas, and the Asvins to the third. This classification
is founded on the natural basis which the deities represent, and is
thus the most practical and least open to objection (comparatively
speaking), RV. X. 158. 1, which invokes Surya, Vata, and Agni
for protection from heaven, air, and earth respectively is apparent¬
ly the lead followed by the predecessors of Yaska whose views are
quoted in the Nh'ukta, and who hold that there are only three re¬
presentative deities, Surya in heaven, Vayu or Indra in air and
Agni on earth, each of these having various appellations according
to differences of function.

The division is overlapping and not very clear-cut, as Tvashfri
and Prithivi are assigned to all the three spheres, Agni and Ushas
to the terrestrial as well as the aerial spheres, and Varuna, Yama
and Savitri to the aerial as well as the celestial ones. Another and
a less satisfactory division is the historical one, into Indo-European,
Indo-Iranian. and Indian deities, based on the age of the mytho¬
logical creation. But the data as regards the dates and periods of
many gods is insufficient and the available accounts of Germanic,
Slavonic, and Celtic mythologies are defective. A division into
prehistoric, transparent, translucent, opaque, and abstract or sym¬
bolic gods, based on the stages of personification which the deities
represent, introduces the subjective element, owing to want of
finalitv regarding etymologies and interpretations, and involves
difficulties as regards clear lines of demarcation. A classification
according to relative greatness may derive support from RV, I. 27.
13. But the difficulties of determining relative greatness are al¬
most insuperable (VIII. 30. I contradicting I. 27. 13) and only a few

366

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

tentative conclusions are possible. For example, Indra, the mighty
warrior, and Varuna, the supreme moral ruler, stand out pre¬
eminent above the rest. Agni and Soma — the two ritual deities —
should come next, but Indra, Agni, and Soma are the three most
popular deities judging by , the frequency of the hymns addressed
to them. The statistical standard provided by the number of hymns
dedicated to the gods and the frequency of the mention of their
names is also not a sure guide.

Before we sum up the general features of Rigvedic religion,
we shall pass under review the class-characteristics of the gods of
the Rigvedic pantheon, and the individual characteristics of the
more important among them. The gods are usually stated to be
thirty-three in number, divided into three groups corresponding
to the three divisions of the Universe as mentioned above. The
gods are described as born, though not all simultaneously, and yet
they are immortal. This immortality is either taken, for granted
or is a gift from Agni and Savitri, or is the result of the drinking of
the Soma. In appearance they are human, the parts of their bodies
(such as their arms or tongue) being identified poetically with the
phenomena of nature, such as rays or flames. They travel through
the air in cars drawn generally by steeds and occasionally by other
animals. The food of men, such as milk, grain, ancf flesh, becomes
the food of the gods when offered in the sacrifice, and is partaken
of by them either on the grass kept ready for their reception at
the place of the sacrifice or in -the heaven where the god of fire
carries it to them. The exhilarating juice of the Soma plant con¬
stituted the favourite drink of the gods. On the whole, the gods
are benevolent, the only one with malevolent traits being Rudra.
Splendour, strength, knowledge, possession, and truth are their
common attributes. As a matter of fact, they have so few indi¬
vidual or distinctive traits, that a riddle hymn like VIII. 29 is possi¬
ble, wherein each ' stanza describes a deity by its characteristic
marks, leaving its name to be guessed. The identification of one
deitv with another and the invocation of deities in twos, threes,
or even in whole groups has helped to add to this vagueness of
outline. The gods subdue the forces of evil and regulate the order
of nature, which they themselves follow and enforce on mortals.
They reward the righteous and punish the sinful.

3. The Celestial Gods

We now turn to the individual deities and give a brief survey
of their noteworthy characteristics in the order of the spheres to
which tliey be^ng. The oldest among the gods of heaven, going
back to the Indo-European period, and identical with the Greek
Zeus, is Dyaus, a personification of the sky, a personification which,
however, did not advance beyond the idea of paternity. He is call-

• 367

THE VEDIC AGE

ed a ruddy bull bellowing downwards, a poetic description, probab¬
ly, of the colour of lightning, the fertilizing power of rain and the
thunder of heaven. The image of the beautiful star-studded sky of
the night is obviously called up when Dyaus is once compared with
a black steed bedecked with pearls. Dyaus is generally paired with
Pyithi-vi, the earth, in the compound DyavaprithivI, the Universal
Parents, who are celebrated in six hymns.

The comparatively small number of hymns addressed to Va¬
runa hardly does justice to his importance in the RV . The per¬
sonification has so far advanced that his physical basis remains
obscure. It has been suggested that the word varuna-s is probably
the same as the Greek word Ouranos (sky) though phonetic difficul¬
ties make the identification uncertain. Varuna is the upholder of
the physical and moral order symbolized in rita with which he is
more intimately connected than any other god. The Varuna hymns
which are predominantly ethical and devout in tone give us the
most exalted poetry in the Rigveda.2 He is a king and a univer¬
sal monarch having a golden abode in heaven which is lofty and
firm, and has a thousand columns and doors. He wears glisten¬
ing garments. He has spies whom none can deceive. He is pre¬
dominantly called the Asura, who rules by means of his maya which
means “occult power” (applicable in a good sense to gods, and in
a bad sense to demons-) . By this power he sends forth dawns and
makes the sun (who is also described as his eye) traverse the sky.
He supports heaven, earth, and air. He, with Mitra, is most fre¬
quently invoked as a bestower of rain. He regulates the seasons.
Neither god nor mortal may violate his ordinances. Varuna’s
special connection with the waters is unmistakable. He is a regu¬
lator of the waters and causes the rivers to flow. If the ocean does
not overflow, although the rivers constantly pour into it, it is due
to the maya of Varuna. He is above all the dhritavrata , the up¬
holder of ordinances such as the fixed paths of the luminaries across
the sky. He stands out pre-eminently as the moral governor
among all the deities. The fetters (paias) with which he binds
sinner’s are characteristic of him in this capacity. In every hymn
to Varupa, there is a prayer for forgiveness of sin.

There is uncertainty regarding the physical basis of the idea
of Varuna. The view generally held is that it is the encompassing
sky. This original conception, it is supposed, goes back at least
to the Indo-Iranian period since Ahura Mazdah (the wise spirit) of
the Avesta agrees with the Asura Varupa in character, though not
in name. In the opinion of the present writer, Varuna in the RV
is pre-eminently the All-Pervader, the All-Encompasser, the All-
Envelooer — an aspect fully agreeing with his name which appears
to be derived from +he root vri (“to cover” or “encompass”). This
All-Encompassing character is in keeping with his lordship over the

368

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

twin spheres of light and darkness, of Night as well as Day, and with
his position as supreme ruler (samraj) of the physical and moral
world and as the custodian of rita. This rita, which like a wheel
circumscribes the universe, regulates it, and keeps it in place, is
Varuna’s pasa and has for its physical basis the belt of the zodiac
from which no luminary ( deva ) may deviate and the penalty for
transgression v/hereof is ensnarement by the shackles of non-rita
or darkness and death. This is one side of the All-Encompassing
character of Varuna. Another and a more important side (unfor¬
tunately missed by most scholars) is Varuna's overlordship of the
Waters ( apah ) which are far more intimately connected with him
in the Rigveda than is generally supposed. The researches of
Warren3 and of Tilak4 establishing the cosmic character of these
Waters have not received the attention they deserve. They may
be summed up as follows:

(1) The Waters are both terrestrial and celestial. The attri¬
butes of the latter in the Rigveda cannot all be satisfactorily account¬
ed for on the hypothesis that they are rain-waters. (2) The release
of the Waters and the breaking forth of the dawn or the emer¬
gence of light are described as simultaneous events (I. 164. 51).
(3) In fact, the movement of the Waters and the spreading forth
of the rays of light originate from the same source and follow the
same path (of rita) simultaneously. (4) These Waters are described
as moved upwards by Indra when set free for movement, simul¬
taneously with the luminaries, after the killing of Vritra (II. 15.
6; I. 80. 5; I. 32. 12, etc.). Their downward movement is, of course,
described, as in VIII. 69. 11 where the seven rivers are said to flow
into the jaws of Varuna as into a surging abyss or ocean. (5) The
Universe is said to have consisted of nothing but undifferentiated
Waters in the beginning (X. 82. 6; 129. 3). These Waters are coe¬
val with the universe (X. 30. 10)- (6) The cosmic circulation of

the celestial waters and the simultaneity of the free flow of the
Waters and the rising of the Dawn are stated unambiguously in the
Avesta (Vendidad XXI. 4-5; Yasht VI. 2, 3; etc.). (7) This theory
of the cosmic circulation of the Waters is not peculiar only to Indo-
Iranian mythology, but is found in Greek and Egyptian mythologies
also. In other words, the celestial waters or watery vapours which
pervaded the regions above, below, and around the earth were
supposed by the Rigvedic poets to be the stuff out of which the
universe was created,'3 and were, like the ether of modern scientists,
the medium of the transmission of the light of the luminaries.

A completely satisfactory explanation of the Rigvedic account
of Varupa as the AU-Pervader follows from his rulership of these
Cosmic Waters. If Varuna in later mythology sank to the position
of an Indian Neptune, it was among other causes also due to the

3^9

THE VEDIC AGE

original sense of the Apalj, (Waters) as ‘‘Cosmic Waters” in the
J Ftiyveda being lost sight of.

Mitra is so closely associated with Varuna, that only one hymn
(III. 59) is addressed to him alone separately and his individual
character cannot be definitely established. His distinctly peculiar
epithet is Ydtayaj - j ana, the “bestirrer of the people,” because he
marshals people into activity as the great Aditya. Mithra is a sun-
god, the guardian of faithfulness, in the Avesta, and Rigvedic evi¬
dence points to Mitra as a solar deity in the aspect of a benevolent
power of nature as suggested by the name Mitra which originally
meant “an ally.”

Surya is the most concrete of the Solar deities, the name (which
designates the orb of the Sun as well as the god) showing that his
character as a luminary was always present to the mind of the
poets. As the all-seeing god, he is often called the eye of Mitra,
Varuna, Agni, and other gods. The dawns produce Surya and he
is to be the son of the goddess Aditi and of Dyaus. He is a ruddy
bird or eagle that flies through space. He is cognate with the
Avestic hvare, “sun,” who has swift horses and who is the eye of
Ahura Mazda.

Savitri is pre-eminently a golden deity. His eyes, arms, hands,
and tongue are golden; so are his car and its pole. He diffuses
golden splendour. He removes evil dreams and drives away de¬
mons and sorcerers. In the famous Gayatrl stanza (III. 62. 10),
which has remained the sacred morning prayer of the Hindus for
more than tw’o thousand years, he is invoked to confer his splendour
on, and stimulate the thoughts of, the worshipper. When Savitri is
said to shine with the rays of the sun, to urge the sun or to announce
men as sinless to the sun, he is evidently distinguished from Surya,
as in RV, VII. 63. But there is a large number of passages where
it is difficult to distinguish between* the two. The poets love to play
on the name of the god, derived as it is from sii, to stimulate. It
is to be noted that he is connected with evening as well as with the
morning time.

Pushan is a god with a very vague personality, the anthropo¬
morphic details being very few. He has a beard and braided hair.
His chariot is drawn by goats and he carries a golden spear, an awl,
and a goad. His favourite food is Karambha (“gruel”). He is
connected with marriage in the wedding hymn (X. 85). He acts
as the envoy of Surya with his golden aerial ships, and as a chario¬
teer drives downward the golden wheel of the sun. He is a guardian
of the roads, the deliverer, par excellence, from danger, and takes
care, of cattle. Aghri^i (“shining”) is an exclusive epithet of his.
Very probably, he was originally a solar deity standing for the bene¬
ficent power of the sun manifested chiefly in its pastoral aspect.

The only prominent anthropomorphic trait, nay, the main cha-

370

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

racteristic of the nature of Vishnu — a minor deity in the RV — is his
three steps which give him the exclusive epithets uru-gdya (“wide-
going”) and uru-krama .(“ wide-stepping”). Two of his steps are
visible, but the third or highest is invisible, far beyond the flight
of birds, and is like' an eye fixed in heaven, shining brightly down.
Since he is described as setting in motion, like a revolving wheel,
his ninety steeds (days) with their four names (seasons, an evident
allusion to the three hundred and sixty days of the solar year),
Vishnu probably is a personification of the activity of the sun, whose
passage through the three divisions of the universe, namely, earth,
air, and heaven, is referred to in his three steps. Indra is the only
deity most closely associated with him.

The word aditi is primarily a noun meaning “non-binding,”
“bondlessness,” from diti “binding,” derived from the root da “to
bind.” Hence as a goddess, Aditi is naturally invoked to release
her worshipper from bondage. This original meaning of unpersoni¬
fied “freedom” seems to survive in a few passages of the RV. Now
the Adityas are several times described as aditeh putrah (“sons of
Aditi”), and this expression may have meant in the pre-Vedic age
simply “sons of freedom” (like sahasah 'putrah= “sons of strength”)
and probably described a prominent quality of Varuna ahd the other
Adityas. Macdonell6 wonders, “But how are we to account for so
early a personification of such an abstract idea, and in particular for
Aditi becoming the mother of the Adityas?” The explanation pro¬
bably is as follows: Aditi is also unmistakably connected with light in
the RV. Varuna — the Aditya — is connected prominently and almost
exclusively with rita; so is Aditi. This rita has for its physical
basis the belt of the Zodiac (as mentioned above). Now the devas,
the lights of heaven, seemed to the ancients to recover their freedom
from the clutches of darkness and to restart on their bright career
from a fixed point in the east, lying on the belt of the Zodiac or the
RHia. This point in all probability was Aditi. No wonder, the lumi¬
naries suddenly emerging thus into freedom and light (emerging in
other words into life itself) from this fixed point (Aditi) received the
epithet “sons of Aditi.” Diti was the exactly opposite point on the
path of the Zodiac in the west, where the lights went out. It will
not be necessary on this theory to suppose7 that the name of
Diti as a goddess was merely an anthithesis to that of Aditi, formed
from the latter to express a positive sense, as sura, “god,” was later
(by false etymology) evolved from asura “demon.” It is to be
noted in this connection that none of the wind or storm gods are
called Adityas. The latter are all gods of light. Six Adityas are
enumerated once (II. 27. 1), the number being stated as seven and
even eight in the last books of the RV. Among the Adityas, Varuna,
Mitra, and Aryaman are Indo-Iranian in origin, while Bhaga, Daksha,
and Amsa seem to be deified abstractions. The sun is probably the

371

THE VEDIC AGE

seventh Aditya, and Mcirtan^a the eighth, whom Aditi casts off and
brings back (X. 72. 8, 9), is very likely the setting sun.

In the case of Ushas, the goddess of Dawn, the personification
is slight, the poet never losing sight of the beautiful physical pheno¬
mena behind the deity. Gaily attired like a dancer with a garment
of light, she rises in the east and exhibits her graces. She is ever-
youtnful, being born again and again, though ancient. Her asso¬
ciation with the sun is naturally very close. He is her lover, but
as she precedes him, she is also said to be his mother. She is the
sister of the night. She is also associated with Agni. As already
noted above (p. 346) the Dawn-hymns are among the most poetic
of the RV.

From the point of view of the number of hymns addressed to
them and also otherwise, the twin deities, known as the Asvins, are
the most important after Indra, Agni, and Soma. They are matu¬
tinal deities, their connection with light being well established.
Except in two or three passages, they are assumed everywhere as
inseparable. Their paths are said to be golden. Dasra (wondrous)
and nasatya are their most peculiar and frequent epithets. They
are particularly associated with honey ( madhu ), which they desire,
drink, carry on their car, and dispense to the bees and mortals.
They are also fond of Soma. Their golden car, fashioned by the.
Hi'bhus, is sometimes drawn by one or more buffaloes or by a single
ass ( rasabha ). Their sister is probably the Dawn. They are asso¬
ciated with Surya who is either the sun conceived as a female or
the daughter of Surya. They are the two husbands of Surya whom
they carry in t.hpir car. They are above all succouring divinities,
the deliverers and rescuers, pa r excellence , from distress. They are
divine physicians with several legends of miraculous cures to their
credit.

Their physical basis has been a puzzle from the days of Yaska
till to-day. The Asvins probably date from the Indo-Europoan
period, in character if not in name. Some think that they represent
the morning twilight — half-light and half-dark. The Asvins, who
are sons of Dyaus ( divo naptitti = Lettic dewa deli = Lithuanian
dewo sunelei)f who ride through the sky with their steeds, and
have a sister, greatly resemble. the two Lettic God’s sons, who come
riding on their steeds to woo the daughter of the sun, either for them¬
selves or for the moon, and the Twin Horsemen of Greek mythology,
the sons of Zeus and the brothers of Helen. The name of Surya,
suryasya duhitci, corresponds to the Lettic saules meita. The suc¬
couring activity of the Asvins finds a parallel in the feats of the
Lettic God’s sons as well as in those of the Greek Dioskouroi, parti¬
cularly in their character as rescuers from the ocean, delivering
the daughter of the sun or the sun himself. Another plausible
theory is that which considers the Asvins as the morning and even-

37?.

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

ing stars. The astronomical fact that the latter are not two but one
is no serious objection, as the identity of the two stars was recogniz¬
ed long after the physical basis of the Asvins was forgotten- The
invariable separation of the two stars, whereas the Asvins appear
both together in the morning, is an objection that can be explained,
if we remember that the Asvins are spoken of separately in a passage
or two, and that the Asvins are invoked sometimes in the morning
and evening, though sunset plays but little part in Vedic worship.
Weber’s opinion8 that the Asvins represent the two bright
stars Castor and Pollux constituting the twin constellation of the
Gemini receives striking support from the theories of Tilak ad¬
vanced in his Orion and The Arctic Home in the Vedas. If, as
Tilak says,9 the sacrifice or the year once commenced with Aditi
at the vernal equinox. in or near Punarvasu, i.e. in the twin con¬
stellation of the Gemini, and if we are to assume that there are re¬
miniscences in the Fiigveda of the year-long day and night of the
Arctic regions, then the twin Stars, Castor and Pollux, represented
by the Asvins, would herald the Arctic Dawn appearing after the
long Arctic night or at the beginning of the year. But as the Arctic
theory is far from being accepted by scholars, the morning and
evening star theory remains the most plausible theory advanced
so far.

4. The Atmospheric Gods

Indra, the favourite national god of the Rigveda, has the largest
number of hymns, nearly 250, i.e. about one-fourth of the total
number or hymns in the RV , addressed to him.9a He has more
myths woven around him and a more developed anthropomorphism
on the physical side than any other god. He is not a purely Indian
creation and his name is pre-Indian (a demon in the Avesta).9,» The
cosmic aspect of his nature as the liberator of the Waters is older
than the martial one, which seems to have developed to the detri¬
ment of the former aspect. His physical proportions and powers
are stunendous, almost cosmic. His arms, bear the Vajra, his ex-
elusive weapon, though he also carries a hook and wields the bow
and arrow. He is a car-warrior (Rathe shtha) , whose golden car is
drawn by two steeds. He is more addicted to Soma, which stimu¬
lates him to battle, than any other god, the epithet somapa “Soma-
drinker,” being characteristic of him. His father is Dyaus accord¬
ing to some passages, Tvashtri according to others. Agni is his twin
brother, most often conjoined with him as a dual divinity. The
Maruts are his principal and constant allies, the epithet marutvant
being peculiar to him. The essential myth, forming the basis of
his nature and repeated frequently and with variations, is the Vritra
myth. Accompanied by the Maruts and exhilarated by Soma, he
attacks Vritra, often called the Ahi (serpent). He smashes Vritra

373

V.A. — 24

THE .VEDIC AGE

who encompasses the Waters, and so deserves the exclusive epithet
apsu-jit ‘‘conquering in the Waters.” In this struggle, which is
constantly renewed, he also pierces the mountains and releases the
pent-up waters, like imprisoned cows. The demons, whom Indra
throws down, dwell on the parvata or giri (mountain or cloud,)
and an adri (rock) is said to encompass the Waters. The clouds
containing the Waters are figured as fortresses ( pura ) of the aerial
demons, described either as autumnal or as made of iron or stone,
and as 90, 99 or 100 in number. He is, therefore, characteristically
called the fort-destroyer ( purbhid ) but his exclusive and thief epithet
is “Vritra-slayer” {Vritra-han) .

The release of the Waters is simultaneous with the winning of
light, sun, and dawn. Independently of the Vritra fight also, he
is said to have found the light, the dawn or the sun, and made a path
for the latter. The cows mentioned with the sun and dawn must
be understood to be the morning beams. The gaining of Soma is
also associated with the winning of the cows and the sun and with
the Vritra fight. His connection with the thunderstorm is indicated
when he is said to have created the lightnings of heaven and directed
the flow of the Waters downwards.

The cosmic actions usually attributed to all the gods are attri¬
buted to him also. His particular achievement is that he settled the
quaking mountains and plains.

As the destroyer of demons he is naturally the favourite god of
battle invoked more often than any other god by warriors. He
protects the “Aryan Colour*’ and subjects the blackskins — the
Dasyus. He is so generous to his worshippers that maghavan “boun¬
tiful” is almost an exclusive epithet of his.

Besides the Vritra-myth, other minor stories are also related of
him, such as “shattering the car of Ushas and stopping the steeds
of the sun”. Some of the stories have an historical element also,
as when he is said to have aided Sudas.

Indra, with his physical superiority, his excesses in eating and
drinking and his cruelty in killing his own father Tvashtri. forms
a marked contrast to Varuna, the upholder of moral order.

The true character of Indra can be understood by ascertaining
that of Vritra, his opponent. The indigenous commentators and a
number of scholars look upon Vritra as the demon of drought, con¬
fining the waters within the clouds. A mure reasonable view is
that10 he was originally a frost and winter demon from whose grasp
the waters have to be wrenched free every year, that thunderstorm
and rain are not the only natural basis of the Vritra myth, and that
the geographical and climatic environments in the later home of the
Vedic Indians only helped so to revise the original myth as to render
very plausible the interpretation of the mythological figure of Indra

374

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

ixs the god o£ the thunderstorm. In support of this view may be
stated the following facts:

(1) Thunderstorms or rains are hardly mentioned in the Indra-
Vpitra myth and the clouds play quite a minor part in it. (2) As
the waters released by Indra are described as running like horses
in a race, rain-water could not be meant, as it does not flow hori¬
zontally nor could races be imagined as run vertically. (3) As the
Vajra is described as made of ore, it is not certain that it means a
thunderbolt. (4) If Indra is the god of the thunderstorm, then the
god Parjanya will be a superfluous figure. (5) The parallels in Indo-
European mythologies suggest that . the description of the Vritra
fight originated not in India but in a country where the hideous
winter lies on land and water, and that the Vritra myth came with
the Aryans from Kashmir or the north-western countries into the
Punjab- (6) As the midday libation is specially reserved for Indra
and the Maruts, Indra very probably represents mythologically the
sun at the zenith. In all probability, therefore, Indra was originally
a god of light.

We pass over the minor atmospheric gods like Trita Aptya,
Apam Napat, Matarisvan, Ahi Budhnya, and Aja Ekapad, and turn
to Rudra who, though a subordinate deity in the RV, is interesting
from the point of view of later mythology. He has braided hair
and a brown complexion. He wears golden prnaments and a glori¬
ous necklace ( nishka ). He is the father of the Maruts whom he
brought forth from the shining udder of Prisni. He is fierce like a
terrible beast and is called a bull as well as the ruddy boar of
-heaven. He is exalted and mightiest of the mighty. He is the
lord ( Isana ) and father of the world. He is easily invoked and
auspicious ( siva ), but in many passages is looked upon as malevolent.
He is implored. to save his worshippers from his bolt which destroys
cows and men. Dread of his wrath and shafts is frequently ex¬
pressed. The beneficent side of his character, however, comes out
in other passages. His two exclusive epithets jalasha (cooling) and
jalasha-bheshaja (possessing cooling remedies) suggest his healing
powers. He is the great physician. The physical basis is not cer¬
tain. It is suggested that the storm in its destructive aspect may
explain the malevolent side of his nature, while the fertilizing and
purifying function of the thunderstorm may well be the basis of his
healing and beneficent powers (see also pp- 161-2, 207).

The Maruts— -the storm-gods — form an important group of deities
(gana, sardhas ), numbering thrice sixty or thrice seven. They are
the sons of Rudra and Prism, the cow (representing the mottled
storm cloud?), also of Vayu, and are sometimes described as self-
born. They are all brothers of equal age, having the same birth¬
place and abode. They are golden, ruddy, and self-luminous and
are associated with vidyut, particularly having the epithet lightning-

375

THE VEDIC AGE

spread {rishti-vidyut) ; the cars on which they ride gleam with
lightning. Among their personal decorations, such as helmets,
mantles, garlands etc., armlets and anklets are peculiar. They make
a loud noise, represented by thunder and the roaring of the winds,
and as such are pre-eminently the singers e* heaven, their songs
inspiring Indra. Their chief function is to shed rain which is figura¬
tively called either milk, honey, or ghi, and which is connected with
the thunderstorm. At the same time they produce light and
make a path for the sun. They are the constant allies of Indra, in
whose company they are addressed as “priests,” their songs repre¬
senting hymns of praise. Indra achieves all his exploits in their
company. Like Rudra, they are invoked to avert lightning, the
arrow and the bolt from the worshippers, and also to bring healing
remedies.

Vayu and Vata (wind) are almost interchangeable terms; when
distinguished, the former is chiefly the god, the latter the element.
The name “Parjanya” means literally “rain-cloud” which, when
personified, becomes an udder, a water-skin or a pail. Parjanya is
also described as a bull that quickens the plants and the earth. 1 1

As regards Apah (the waters), the personification is only inci¬
pient. They are mothers, wives, and goddesses who bestow boons.
They are celestial as well as terrestrial, and the view has been men¬
tioned above (in connection with Varuna) that the celestial
Waters were probably looked upon as an ether-like medium on
which the luminaries made their fixed journeys along the Zodiac
(rita), and that the blocking of them by Vritra was supposed to
prevent the rise and movements of these luminaries, thus causing
long darkness. As the waters are invoked as apo in the Avesta ,
their deification is pre-Vedic.

5. The Terrestrial Gods

Agni, a personification of the sacrificial fire, presents in its
conception the household life of the Vedic Aryans, and is second in
importance only to Indra whose conception presents their external
life of struggle and conquest. The anthropomorphism of the phy¬
sical appearance of Agni is naturally very slight. He is butter-
backed, and flame-haired, and eats the oblations with his tongue.
Wood or ghi is his food, and melted butter his beverage, though he
is invited also to drink the Soma with other gods. He is nourished
three times a day. Although he is invoked to partake of the sacri¬
ficial offerings himself, he is more prominently the mouth by which
the gods eat the sacrifice. His splendour is naturally his most pro¬
minent quality. He shines by day and night. He is called “smoke-
bannered” ( dhuma-ketu ) and is said to be supporting the sky with
his smoke as with a post. He is a charioteer of the sacrifice and
brings the gods in his golden lightning car. He is said to be the

376

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

son of heaven (Dyaus) and also of heaven and earth. Indra, with
whom he is more closely associated than with any other god, is
called his twin brother.

There are various myths about his births, forms, and abodes.
He is daily p/oduced from the two kindling-sticks ( aranis ), which
are called his parents or mothers, and therefore he is ever young,
though ancient. He is called the “son of strength,” probably be¬
cause of the strength required to kindle the fire, the ten fingers
(called maidens) being exercised in the process. Agni’s origin in
the aerial waters is often referred to. As the Son of Waters {Apdrh
napat) he has become a separate deity. He is also said to be born
in the highest heaven and was brought down . from heaven by
Matarisvan (the Indian Prometheus). This is his third origin —
the celestial one. The three-fold nature of Agni is a favourite topic
with RV poets; his heads, bodies, stations, splendours and births
are each threefold. He is the earliest representative of the famous
Indian trinity, and yet sometimes he is called dvi-janman (“having
two births”) from the point of view of a two-fold division of the
universe into heaven and earth.

His connection with domestic life is a special feature. He is
the only gjihapati (master of the house), the atithi (guest”), and
a kinsman of men. He is the ditto, (“messenger”), par excellence ,
appointed by gods and men to be an oblation-bearer.

As the central figure of the sacrifice, he is called variously
ritvij, vipra , purohita , adhvaryu and brahman and is thus the divine
counterpart of the earthly priesthood. He is pre-eminently “omni¬
scient” or “one who knows all created beings” ( jatavedas ). The
funeral hymn (X. 14) distinguishes between the havya-vahana form
of Agni (the conveyor of offerings) and the kravydd form of Agni,
that burns the dead body on the funeral pyre.

Even in the Indo-European period, the sacrificial fire was a well-
known institution, as offering gifts to the gods by casting them into
fire was customary among the Italians and Greeks. In the Indo-
Iranian period a vast ritual had already developed around the sacri¬
ficial fire which is personified and worshipped as a beneficent god.

Rigvedic mythology is dominated by two all-pervading figures,
the Sun and the Fire. There are but few deities in the Rigvedic
pantheon that cannot be explained ( though this may not be neces¬
sary) as manifestations of either the one or the other. Now the
sun is regarded as a form of Agni (VII. 2. 1) and Agni is said to be
born as the rising sun in the morning. This ultimate unity underly¬
ing the divine diversity may provide a solution of many a puzzle
in Rigvedic mythology.

Bpihaspati, also called Brahmanaspati (lord of prayer), has but
few physical features, and these are the usual ones ascribed to all
other gods. Like Agni, he is both a domestic priest and a brahman

377

THE VEDIC AGE

priest and the generator of all prayers. He is identified with as
well as distinguished from Agni. Being often invoked with Indra
(some of whose epithets like maghavan and vajrin he shares), he
is drawn into the Indra myth of the release of the cows. Thus he
has no homogeneous character, combining in himself, as he does,
martial as well as priestly elements. As the divine brahman priest,
he seems to have been the prototype of Brahman, the chief of the
later Hindu triad. On the other hand, as the lord and creator of
brahman, which played an important part in the later ritual and
finally became the supreme principle in Vedanta philosophy, the
god is very interesting from the point of view of the later religious
and philosophical development of India.

Next in importance to Indra and Agni conies. Soma, because the
Soma sacrifice was the centre of the Rigvedic ritual. As the Soma
plant and its juice were ever present before the Rigvedic poets,
the anthropomorphism is less developed than that of Indra or Va¬
nina. The weapons of Soma such as the bow, his car, and his team
are described. An entire book — the ninth— -is devoted to Soma
(the deity and the plant) and the preparation of the Soma juice.
The arhsu (shoot or stalk) is pounded between stones called adri.
The pressed juice, in the act of passing through the filter of sheep’s
wool, is called pavamdna (or punana ) “flowing clear.” The juice
thus purified and as yet unmixed is called sukra or suchi (bright),
also suddha (pure). This filtered Soma next flows into jars ( kalasa )
or vats ( drona ) where it is mixed (technically “cleansed”) with
water and milk to sweeten it. The Soma has three kinds of ad¬
mixture (asir), with milk (fifo), sour milk (dadhi) or barley ( yava ).
The admixture is poetically described as a bright robe. Soma is
thus pressed three times a day; the morning libation is the first
drink of Indra, the midday one belongs to him exclusively, while
the evening pressing is for the Ribhus. The admixture of Soma
brings him into a special relation with the Waters, who are called
his “mothers” or “sisters.” Soma is also the lord of streams.

The exhilarating power of Soma is appreciated. It is a divine
drink conferring immortality on gods and men. It is called a mrita,
the “draught of immortality.” Soma has curative powers also. As
a deity, Soma is a wise seer, a poet, who stimulates thought and in¬
spires hymns. The fact that Soma invigorates Indra in his fight
with Vritra is repeated so often that Indra’s exploits and cosmic
actions come to be attributed to him.

Like the corresponding Haoma in the Avesta, Soma grows on
the mountains, but his true origin is said to be in heaven, from which
he was brought to earth by an eagle. Soma is a king; the lord of
plants or lord of the wood ( vanaspati ) . In a few of the latest hymns
of the RV, Soma is mystically identified with the moon.

378

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

The preparation and offering of the Soma was a feature' of Indb-
Iranian worship. There are numerous similarities between the
Soma and the Haoma (Avestan) cults. The belief in an intoxicat¬
ing beverage of the gods, a kind of honey or mead, may probably
go back even to the Indo-European period.

Among the remaining terrestrial deities, Prithivi is so closely
associated with Dyaus, that generally they are celebrated conjointly,
Dyaus being never lauded alone in any hymn, while Prithivi alone
is invoked only in one short hymn of three stanzas (V. 84). The
personification is so slight that the attributes are mainly those of the
physical earth. Certain rivers are also lauded, the most important
among them being the Sarasvati in whose case, the personification
has made greater progress than in the case of the other rivers like
the Sindhu (Indus) and the sister streams of the Punjab, namely
Vipas (Beas) and SutudrI (Sutlej).

The progress of religious thought in the RV is discernible in the
transition from the concrete to the abstract and in the rise of abstract
deities, the earlier and the larger class of which originated from
epithets applicable to one or more of the older deities, like Tvashtri,
Prajapati, etc. A smaller class consists of personifications of ab¬
stract nouns like Manyu (wrath), Sraddha (faith), etc. Goddesses
play a very unimportant role, the only notable exception being that
of Ushas. Dual divinities like Mitra-Varurta and Dyava-prithivi (dual
compounds with each member in the dual) are a special characte¬
ristic. Groups of deities, like the Maruts (a large group associated
with Indra, Agni, and Soma) , the Adityas (a small one, with Varuna
as chief), and the Vasus have been already mentioned. An all-
embracing group is that of the Vis vedevas (the All-gods). A few
divinities there are of the tutelary order, like Vastoshpati (lord of
the dwelling), Kshetrasya-pati (lord of the field), and Slta (the
furrow).

Various features of the earth’s surface such as mountains, be¬
sides rivers and waters and plants, and artificial objects like sacri¬
ficial implements and weapons m:e also deified, in addition to the
great phenomena of nature.

The Demons, often mentioned, are either the aerial foes of the
gods like Dasas or Dasyus (Asuras occur in the later parts of the
RV only) or constitute a lower class of terrestrial goblins, commonly
called Rakshasas or a species designated by the term yatu or Yatit-
dhdna. Magical practices are dealt with in about a dozen hymns
in the tenth Mandala which treat of augury or spells against poison¬
ous vermin, diseases, a child-killing demon, enemies in general, and
rival wives. Incantations to preserve life, to bring on sleep, and
to procure offspring are found in X. 58-60; VII. 55, and X. 183 res¬
pectively, while the well-known Frog-hymn (VII. 103) (ante,
p. 349) is supposed to envisage frogs as magical bringers of rain.

379

THE VEDIC AGE

The first four out of the so-called funeral hymns (X. 14-8) (ante,
p. 352) are addressed to deities who control life after death.

Some of the significant aspects of Rigvedic mythology may now
be summed up thus:

(1) The principal phenomena of Nature, con reived as alive and
represented in anthropomorphic (not rarely in theriomorphic) shape,
were the objects of worship. (2) The so-called simple primitive
side of Nature-Worship may be supposed to be reflected in the ado¬
ration of plants, trees, and mountains. (3) A great god like Indra is
sometimes conceived as a bull, or the Sun as a horse, but totemism
in the sense of the actual direct worship of animals, or the belief
in an animal ancestor, is not to be thought of. Vritra (the drought-
demon), for example, is conceived as a snake, but the snake receives
no worship. (4) Whether fetishism is to be read into a reference to
an image of Indra, and whether the worship of idols or images of
gods was known to the Rigveda, are points on which no certain con¬
clusions can be reached.

2 . SACRIFICE

It is hardly any wonder that the humanized gods of the Rig¬
veda should share some human weaknesses and be susceptible to
flattery and gifts. A full meal was certain to win divine favour.
Thank-offerings were known. Though the feeling of dependence
was there, and though the surrender of one’s property and posses¬
sions became ultimately the mark of deep affection for God, it was
the definite hope and expectation of rewards that chiefly inspired
the offering of prayers and oblations in the Rigveda. But who was
to carry the offerings from earth to the gods in heaven? Very
naturally the fire, with its towering flames and ever-rising smoke,
already deified as Agni (as Atar by the Iranians), was thought of as
an intermediary and messenger and as a bearer of oblational offer¬
ings from men to gods. The sacrificial fire is, in fact, an Indo-
European institution, as the Romans, the Greeks, and the Iranians
also had the custom of offering gifts to the gods in fire. In the Indo-
Iranian period already an elaborate ritual, in the keeping of the
priestly class, is found developed around the sacrificial fire.

In the Rigveda, the sacrifice is yet only a means of influencing
the gods in favour of the offerer, and it is doubtful whether in this
age the conception of gods as subject to control by the worshipper,
if he only knew the correct means, was developed, and whether
the selection of the horse as a sacrifice was motivated by the belief
that thereby the swift steed — the sun — regained strength and favour¬
ed the worshipper. As regards the more mystic view of the sacrifice
as a -sacrament, the common meal of the priests on the sacrificial
victim may only be looked upon as a bare hint in that direction,
because though the priests believed that this meal brought them into

380

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

a special relationship with the god who by sharing it with them
acquired in part the same nature as themselves, it is doubtful
whether they deemed themselves to be consuming the victim. It
may be noted in this connection that union or companionship with
the gods (I. 125. 5) or with the sun is vouchsafed to those who give
liberally or those who are generous with the sacrificial fees.

If we remember that the Rigveda-Samhita is composed of earlier
and later portions, it will be easy to understand how, on the one
hand, a large number of the hymns arose independently of all
sacrificial ritual, although many of these were used later on for
sacrificial purposes, and how, on the other hand, many other hymns
were from the first intended for nothing but saprificial songs and
litanies. Two varieties of this sacrificial cult are to be noted in the
main, as follows:

(1) Certain hymns and verses of the RV were used as bene¬
dictions and prayers at birth, marriage, and other occasions of daily
life, at funerals and ancestor- worship, as well as at ceremonies for
ensuring the fertility of the cattle and the growth of the fruits of
the field. These ceremonies, called grihya karmdni, were, as a rule,
associated with sacrifices of the simplest type, viz. burnt offerings
(i.e. offerings of milk, grain, ghi, or flesh thrown into the fire). At
these, the householder himself (who was assisted, if necessary, by
one single priest, the Brahman) officiated as the sacrificial priest and
the single fire of the domestic hearth served as the altar. These
simple sacrifices which every one, rich or poor, performed according
to his means, consisted chiefly of prayers (the first stage of the Vedic
religion). In addition to these and a few incantations in the tenth
Mandala which represent popular religion consisting of spells to
defeat rivals, to prevent and cure diseases and to repel noxious
animals, we have (2) the grand sacrifices, especially in connection
with the Soma-cult relating to Indra, which could only be under¬
taken by aristocratic and wealthy men ( maghavan ), and especially
by the kings. An extensive sacrificial area with three altars for
the three sacred fires, and a multitude of priests headed by four
chief priests who received liberal payment ( dakshina ) for the joint
performance of numerous elaborate and intricate rites and ceremo¬
nies on behalf of the yajamdna (sacrificer) who did very little him¬
self, characterized these Srauta sacrifices. The hymns of the RV
are much occupied with the Soma ritual. Animal sacrifices are
indicated by the uprl-suktas , and the horse-sacrifice (asvamedha)
was undoubtedly performed. The Purusha-Sukta, does not describe
an actual human sacrifice, but merely preserves, in all probability,
the memory of it, as it was performed in prehistoric times, because
the SunahSepa hymns of the Rigveda (I. 24-30 and IX. 3) are not
exactly related to the Sunahsepa legend of the Aitareya BrdhTnaijta

THE VEDIC AGE

which is probably reminiscent of human sacrifice in pre-historic
times.

3 . PHILOSOPHY

It has been generally held that the Rigvedic religion is essen¬
tially a polytheistic one, taking on a pantheistic colouring only in
a few of its latest hymns. Yet a deeply abstract philosophizing
crops up unexpectedly in some hymns as a reminder of the long
journey made from primitive polytheism to systematic philosophy,
through the stages of naturalistic polytheism, monotheism, and
monism.

The plurality of gods could not satisfy the intellect of the Rig¬
vedic seers. One god was therefore identified with another, or
gods were invoked in pairs or conjointly m groups of three or more.
Systematization took the form of the classification of the gods into
different categories or of the amalgamation of them all into one
comprehensive group of the “All-gods.” This systematization was
but a step forward towards the more logical monotheism. There
cannot be more than one supreme and unlimited Being. The ap¬
pearance of what Max Muller calls henotheism is due to this un¬
conscious urge towards monotheism imperfectly moulding poly¬
theistic tendencies and thus presenting an inconsistent picture. When
“individual gods are alternately regarded as highest,” a large num¬
ber of attributes, personal characteristics, and functions become
common to all the gods, the merging of all these qualities into one
divine figure becomes easy, and thus polytheistic anthropomor¬
phism evolves into a kind of spiritual monotheism.

But the Rigveda betrays discontent even with this monotheistic
development and the single supreme anthropomorphic deity that
should follow from it. RV, I- 164.4 asks “Who has seen the first-born,
when the boneless one bore the on$ with bones? Where is the life,
the blood, the self of this bhumi (universe)? Has anyone approached
the knowing one to ask this question?” As if in answer to this ques¬
tion, verse 46 of the same hymn affirms that the central principle was
the sexless sat (the “real”) which, though one, was called by various
names, Indra, Mitra, Varuija, Agni, Yama, Matarisvan, etc. Thus, in
some of the late hymns of the Rigveda , which designate indifferently
the Supreme or Absolute as “He” or “It,” is reflected the usual vacilla¬
tion between monotheism and monism met with in all philosophies.
In the opinion of the present writer, the transition from mono¬
theism to monism was effected smoothly and almost unconsciously,
owing to the growing influence of the conception of Rita. As men¬
tioned above, the primary sense of Rita , appearing alongside of,
and *yet clearly distinguished from, its secondary sense or senses,
is the physical one. Rita is the path of the Zodiac within which
the apparent motions of the devas (luminaries) are confined and

382

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

which is dotted by the nakshatras . No wonder that the devas are
said to be born in Rita and governed by it. Rita next comes to
denote very naturally the cosmic order or law prevailing in nature.
In the moral world, the word designates “order” through the mean¬
ings “truth” and “right,” and in the religious world “the order”
takes the form of sacrifice or rite. The way to the later conception
of the Absolute, which is impersonal and is designated by the neuter
terms sat or brahman, has been paved by this abstract conception of
FLita, which looks like the earliest crude precursor of the Absolute of
the later Vedanta.

The problem of the origin and nature of the world-stuff is a
philosophical one, and is not neglected by the Rigveaic poets. RV,
X. 190 tells us that from heat (tapas) were produced rita and
satya ; then night, the ocean, and samvatsara (year) were produced
in succession.. .RV, X. 72. 2 says that sat was produced from asat.
From the mythological point of view, each one of the gods in turn
is said to be the creator of the universe, the universe being some¬
times looked upon as the finished product of the carpenter’s and
joiner’s skill. For example KV, X. 31. 7 asks “What was the wood,
which the tree, out of which they fashioned heaven and earth?”
RV, X. 121 takes up the problem of creation on a monotheistic level
and tells us that Hirapyagarbha arose from the great waters,
pervading the Universe, and thus created the world out of eternally
pre-existing matter. But X. 129 — the well-known Nasadlya hymn
— describes creation from the highest monistic level. “In the be¬
ginning, there was no ‘Non-existent/ because this creation arose
therefrom, nor the ‘Existent/ because its usual manifestations — the
firmament or the heaven beyond it — were not then. The One
breathed by itself, breathless, and there was nothing beyond it.
There was no death then; how could there be anything immortal
then? There was no light which could give us distinctions like
night or day.” Thus is suggested the highest philosophical truth
that we cannot characterize the Absolute because of the inadequacy
of our categories. Tapas is the v/arming up of being into existence,
whereby is developed from the Absolute the implication of the pri¬
mary antithesis, namely the opposition of ego and non-ego. The
hymn further tells us that Desire (Kama) , the germ of the mind be¬
traying self-consciousness, is the bond binding the existent to the
non-existent. The doubt expressed at the end as to whether anyone
knows the truth about creation is a beautiful expression of the igno¬
rance of the wise. This hymn rises to the breath-taking heights, pf
monism and leaves behind the dualistic metaphysics of the hymn „to
Visvakarman (X. 82) wherein we are told that the Waters contained
the primordial germ — the floating world-egg from which arises Vis¬
vakarman, the first-born of the universe — the creator and maker, ot

383

THE VEDIC AGE

the world- The Nasadiya hymn, in the terminology of modern philo¬
sophy, makes nature and spirit both aspects of the One, the Absolute,
which is neither the self nor the non-self.

The word maya in the RV generally denotes “occult power”
applicable in a good sense to gods and in a bad sense to demons,
and may be rendered by the English word “craft”, having a similar
double application. But, as noted above (p. 353), in X. 54. 2 it is
used in the sense of “illusion” or “show,” thus forestalling later
Vedanta philosophy. It may be safely affirmed, however, that the
Rigvedic tendency is towards a naive realism, not monistic idealism,
towards which the general spirit of Indian thought was soon to drift.
If X. 72. 2 says that the “existent” was produced from the “non¬
existent,” all that is meant is that the manifest arose from out of
the non-manifest. If being or non-being is postulated as the first
principle, it is strictly from the point of view of the world of expe¬
rience.

Instead of the five elements of later philosophy, the RV postu¬
lates only v/ater as the primordial element or matter, from which
the others gradually evolve. In the Purusha-Sukta (X. 90) the body
of the Purusha is said to be the original material, as it were, out of
which the world is made. The gods are the agents of creation, the
act of creation is a sacrifice, and the Purusha is the victim. Although
anthropomorphism, pushed to the last limit, is responsible for the
greatness of God and the unity of world and God, being described
in terms of the gigantic dimensions of the Purusha, the hymn X.
90 is a sort of crude allegory of the theory of creation from the
One Absolute found ir. X. 129. Only, here the Supreme reality
becomes the active Purusha— the begetter as well as the begotten:
“From the Purusha Virr.-. was born, and from Virat again the Puru¬
sha,”' (X. 90. 5).

4. ETHICAL AND SPIRITUAL THOUGHT

As the Rigvedic Aryans were full of the joie de vivre , they
were not particularly interested in the life after death; much less
had they any special doctrines about it. We can therefore glean
only a few notices of the life beyond, that are scattered through¬
out the Rigveda .

Two separate pathways along which all moving creatures
travel, namely the path of the Fathers and that of the gods and
mortals, are spoken of in X. 88. 15, and it is supposed that there is
a reference here to the way to the other world. Companionship
with the Sun and the gods and immortality are highly prized goals
(X. 107. 2; I. 125. 5). After his death, a man is supposed to enter
the kingdom of Yama (who and his sister Yam I were primeval
twins). Yama was the first of the mortals who died and discover¬
ed the way to the realm over which he rules and which is the des-

384

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

lination of the subsequent dead. The spirits of the departed ones
are supposed to go through ishpapurta to this paradise, where Yama
and the Fathers live in the midst of the joys of immortality, and the
spirits are material enough to enjoy such pleasures as the drink¬
ing of Soma, milk, honey, and surd, as also music. This is hardly
surprising, as the goal of all human endeavour is to become like
gods. This heaven is reached through sacrifices and worship of
the gods. The spirit is endowed with a shining form in heaven
(X. 14. 8).

Hell is represented as a place of punishment for evil-doers
(a vratas). This is characterized as low and dark (X. 152. 4), as a
kind of pit (IX. 73. 8). There is, however, no sordid picture of
hell and its terrors. In our search for any reference, implicit or
explicit, to rebirth or transmigration, we-, come across only a few
doubtful passages. According to RV, 1. 164. 30, “the soul (jivali)
of the dead one moves in its own power, the immortal one having
a common origin with the mortal one (the body).” But this trans¬
lation is not certain. The reference in RV, X. 15. 2 to Pitris who
reside in the earth-region or in the dwellings of men need not
imply belief in the soul as a ghost revisiting the haunts of men,
blit may only be the germ of the idea of the acceptance of the fune¬
ral ( Srdddha ) offerings by them which became so famous at a later
time. RV , X. 16. 3 exhorts the soul of the dead to go over to heaven
or earth, to the waters or to the plants, along with all its physical
parts. But is this going over a rebirth? In X. 58 the departing
spirit of a dying person is called back from Yama, from heaven,
earth, the quarters, the sea, the waters, the sun, the dawn or the
mountains, i.e. from wheresoever it may have gone to. So we
may conclude that only the germs of the conception of rebirth
were there, and these developed either naturally, or through the
influence of ideas current among the original tribes with whom
the Aryans came into contact.

RV, VII. 86. 6 and 88. 5, 6 clearly show that the consciousness
of sin la nrita, agas, enas ) was recognized. Sin resulted from the
violation of rita or “order” in the moral sphere (i.e. of “truth” and
“right”) as well as in the religious one (i.e. of sacrifice or rite), or
of the commands of God. In the unalterable law of good or bad
effects, flowing from good or bad conduce, are to be found the first
germs of the law of Karman (that most outstanding characteristic
of Indian thought) — binding on gods and mortals alike. Offering
prayers and performing rites, living in short in perfect harmony
with the will of God— this was the ideal moral life according to the
RV. Man owes some duties to his fellow-beings also (X. 117). RV,
V. 85. 7 tells us that an offence against a friend, neighbour, or com¬
rade, or even a stranger is a sin (agas). Adultery, witchcraft, gam¬
bling, drinking, senselessness, and self-deception are ranked as de-

385

THE VEDIC AGE

viations from the moral life. The view, therefore, that the so-
called uncertainty of the fate of the evil after death is a vagueness
characteristic of the comparative indifference to morals, and that
if gods are extolled as true it is not an assertion of ascertained truth,
is wrong.

On the whole a very optimistic outlook on life is revealed in the
hymns of the RV. Not that the Rigvedic Aryans do not desire im¬
mortality (amritatva) or the company of the gods in heaven. As we
have seen above, there are many hymns and stanzas which raise ques¬
tions and posit answers, all inspired by the eternal quest of the
human heart for a solution of life’s problems. These hymns be¬
tray a metaphysical streak arid a flair for cutting the Gordian knot
of philosophy — seeds which were to blossom later into the wild yet
beautiful garden of the Upanishads. But the joys and pleasures
of. this world interest them deeply. Thus the Rigveda is full of
prayers for long life, freedom from disease, heroic progeny, wealth,
power, abundance of food and drink, the defeat of rivals, etc.
There is no trace of pessimism in the thoughts of the Rigvedic
sages. Whether life was a reality or illusion, substance or shadow,
they want to enjoy it to the full. They do not seem to subscribe
to the doctrine that life is a misery, which can only be ended by
eradicating desire or vdsana. the cause of the ever-recurring cycle
of births and deaths — a doctrine developed later by the Buddhists
and found in the Vedanta. The religious thought, therefore, be¬
trays a practical streak. The worship of the powers of Nature is
sincere but utilitarian, and do ut des is quite openly the theory- of
all sacrifice and homage.

GENERAL REFERENCES

Macdonell, A. A.: Vedic Mythology (Strassburg, 1897).

1. Riaveda Repetitions, Preface, p. xviii.
la. VM, p. 16.

2. Cf. Ch. XVI, p. 343. For a beautiful hymn in the Atharva-Veda, cf. Ch. XX.
pp. 417-8.

3. Paradise Found (Tenth Edition, 1893 V Part V, Ch. V, pp. 250-60.

4. The Arctic Home in. the Vedas, p. 233-96.

5. RV, X. 121. 1 and 3 ff. See also Sat. J3r., XI. 1. 6. 1; Ait. Br., I. 1; and Man«-
smriti, 1. 9,

6. VM, p. 122.

7. VM, p. 123.

8. Ind . Stud., 5. 234.

9. Orion, p. 205.

9a. For some specimens; cf. Ch. XVI, pp. 344 ff.

9b. Cf. Ch. XI. p. 227.

10. Zimmerman, A Second Selection of Hymns from the Rigveda (Second Edition
1922V, Appendix IV. pp. Cl ff.

11'. Cf. the hymn to Parjanya quoted in Ch. XVI, pp. 347.

386

CHAPTER XIX

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

I. SOCIAL CONDITION

1. Family Life

THE foundation of social life was the patriarchal family. In Rig -
veda (I. 24. 12-15 and V. 2. 7), where we find the rudiments of the
Sunahsepa story, a kind of absolute control by parents over child¬
ren is suggested. That family discipline was strict is illustrated
by the case of Rijrasva who was deprived of his sight as a punish¬
ment by his father (I. 116. 16). Similarly in RV, X. 34. 4 we are
told how the insolvent gambler is disowned by his parents and
brothers, in front of his creditor. This does not mean that the
relation between the parents and children was not generally one
of warm affection; for a father is looked upon as the type of all
that is good and kind. The wedding hymn (X. 35) indicates that
the newly-married wife rules over (or wins by her love?) her
brothers-in-law and even over her husband’s parents although she
herself entertains a feeling of respect for them. This is clear evi¬
dence of joint family life. That under certain circumstances this
joint family included the wife’s mother is suggested by X. 34. 3
where the gambler complains that “his mother-in-law hates him.”
After the death of the father, the eldest son took charge of the
family.

A notable feature of the etiquette of the Rigvedic age was
the great store set on hospitality. The frequent epithet of Agni,
viz., Atithi, the beloved guest in human abodes, takes for granted
the affection and Respect generally shown to a guest. No wonder
that in later literature detailed descriptions of the merits of hos¬
pitality should occur, and that hospitality to a guest should be
elevated to the rank of a religious duty, as one of the five great
daily sacrifices (pancha-mahayajnas) .

2. The Caste System

The elaborate institution known as the Caste System among
the Hindus in India may almost be said to be without a parallel
in the world, although there is hardly a country where classes or
orders of society or grades of social distinction of some kind or
other are not met with. A common origin, name, tutelary deity,
occupation, and ceremonies generally distinguish one homogene¬
ous caste-group from another, but to-day caste is rigidly fixed by
birth, and exclusive commensality and connubium between the
members of a caste-group to the exclusion of all others are its funda-

387

THE VEDIC AGE

mental and outstanding characteristics. Further, the conception
of impurity communicable to a higher caste by contact with a
lower one underlies this fissiparous tendency, and has resulted in
the untouchability of the so-called Sudra, who by popular error is
almost indentified with the p anchama, or one outside the frame¬
work of the Chaturvaniya . Again, in place of the four original
vatfias or class-groups, there are today thousands of caste divisions
and sub-divisions and the number is still growing. This unique
development of an ordinary social phenomenon naturally invests
its history with a special importance.

The extent to which caste had been developed in the age of the
Rigveda Samhitd has formed a subject of keen controversy among
scholars.1 • The uncertainty regarding the exact interpretation of
the basic words and phrases in the Rigveda , and the relative chro¬
nology of the various relevant passages scattered throughout that
Veda, make it difficult to arrive at any conclusion that is likely to
meet with general acceptance. We shall, therefore, state first of
all in detail the most widely accepted version — in a sense, almost
the recognized version — of the development of caste in the Rigveda ,
contenting ourselves with only a brief statement of divergent views.
Much confusion will be avoided, if we keep in view the fact, gene¬
rally agreed to, that the development of caste has been a progres¬
sive one, and that we should not expect in the Rigveda Samhitd
the picture of the Caste System which is presented even in the
Yajurveda Sarhhitds.

There are various speculations in later Brahmanical literature
regarding the origin of castes. The most common is that which re¬
presents the Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras to have
been created respectively from the head, breast or arms, the thighs,
and the feet of the Creator. An echo of this is found in a hymn of
the RV (X. 90), the famous Puruslia-sukta, which describes the my¬
thical legend of the sacrifice of a primeval giant called Purusha, the
ideal “Man” or World-Spirit. The relevant passage has been trans¬
lated thus:2

“When (the gods) divided Purusha, into how many parts did
they cut him up? What was his mouth? What arms (had he)?
What (two objects) are said (to have been) his thighs and feet? The
Brahmana was his mouth; the Raj any a was made his arms; the
being (called) the Vaisya, he was his thighs; the Sudra sprang from
his feet.”

This passage refers to the first three Castes not as sprung from,
but as identical with, the mouth, arms and the thighs of the Creator.
But in spite of this difference many regard this hymn of the RV
as the earliest exposition of the later Brahmanical view, and re¬
gard the essential features of the Caste System as existing even in
the earliest Aryan society in India.

388

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

This theory has been challenged by many scholars whose views
may be brielty stated as follows:

The evidence of the Purusha-sukta, an admittedly late hymn, is
hot valid for the bulk of the Rigveda, which was produced by the as
yet un-Brahmanized tribes of Vedic Indians living in the Indus
region and the Punjab. The Caste System was developed only
later, when a section of these Vedic tribes migrated farther east.
The term Varna (Lit., Aryan colour) is used in the Rigveda of all the
three highest castes of later times, being contrasted only with Dasa
(the dasyu-varna or “aboriginal colour’*). § The terms “Raj any a,”
“Vaisya” and “&udra” occur only in the Purusha-sukta, the term
“Brahmana,” also, being rare in the Rigveda. The term “Ksha-
triya,”,of which “Rajanya” is an earlier variant, occurs but seldom
in the Rigveda. The term “Brahman” denotes “a priest by^ profes¬
sion” only in some passages, while in others it denotes any person
who was distinguished by genius or virtue, or one who, for some
reason, was deemed specially receptive of the divine inspiration.

The transition from the casteless, though classified, society of
the bulk of the Rigveda to the elaborate Caste System of the Yajur -
veda is to be traced to the complication of life resulting from the
further migration of the Vedic Aryans from - the Punjab to the east.
The necessity of carrying on a ceaseless fight with, and the conquest
of, the aborigines called for an organization of the conquering
people by the merger or fusion of petty tribes into centralized
kingdoms. Thus emerged the powerful monarch, while the lesser
tribal princes, • deprived of their royal rank, sank to the position
of nobles. The monarchy, moreover, needed now a standing armed
force, prepared to meet all eventualities, such as resisting the sudden
incursions of native or other Aryan tribes and quelling revolts on
the part of the subdued aborigines. This standing army was natu¬
rally recruited from the ranks of the nobility of tribal princes and
the chief armed retainers of the king. This is the genesis of the
warrior class. At the same time, the “people” of the Aryan masses,
secure in the protection afforded by the warrior class, ceased to take
interest in military matters and settled down to a peaceful life
devoted to agriculture, pastoral pursuits, trade, and industry. They
constituted the third class, the Vis , later called “Vaisyas.”

Side by side also grew a distinct community of priests. In the
earlier period, not only the householder but even the petty prince
could offer sacrifice to the gods for himself and his people, the ritual
being very simple. But when the size of the kingdom grew and
military and administrative affairs kept the hands not only of the
king but also of the warrior class full, while, at the same time, the
ritual tended to become more complicated and elaborate, the need
was keenly felt of a hieratic order, composed of the more intellectual
elements among the non-fighters who could dedicate themselves,

389

Y.S.— 23

THE VEDIC AGE

undisturbed by the distractions of war or. peace, to the faithful
and exact performance of the highly developed ritual, and to the
preservation (by word of mouth) of the traditional formulae and
sacred hymnology of the Aryans, a heritage in part at least from
almost prehistoric times.

As regards the fourth class, the &udra is mentioned for the
first and only time in the “Purusha-sukta.” But dasyu and ddsa
are known to the Rigveda, both as aborigines independent of Aryan
control and as conquered slaves. The latter may reasonably be sup¬
posed to represent the Sudras of the later texts. But not all the
defeated aborigines could be absorbed as slaves in the royal house¬
hold or in the houses of individual owners. There must have been
whole villages of the aborigines, though under Aryan control. The
-term “Sudra” was evidently applied to the inhabitants of these
villages as well as to the wild hill tribes which lived by hunting
and fishing and acknowledged the overlordship of their Aryan
neighbours. In course of time it included, even dasyu-varna (or
dark-skinned) people who remained beyond the pale of the Aryan
state and who were virtually excluded from the religious and ritual
cult of the Aryans. The development of the Caste System in a
rigid form, with strictly hereditary and mutually exclusive caste*
groups, did not take place till the time when the Vedic Aryans had
settled down in the Middle Country and were already Brahmanized
enough to look upon the inhabitants of the North-West — the home
of the Rigveda — as uncivilized Vratyas because they did not follow
the strict Caste System.

The view summed up above may be regarded as the one now
generally accepted by scholars. According to this recognized ver¬
sion, in the earliest society represented by the bulk of the Rigveda,
there were probably different classes and professions, but none, not
even the priestly and the warrior classes, were hereditary; the war¬
riors were drawn from the people at large, and any person with the
requisite qualifications could officiate as a priest.

This view is not, however, accepted by some whose arguments
may be briefly stated thus: (1) The main, if not the earliest part of
the Rigveda was, in all probability, composed not in the Punjab
but in the east, in the country later known as the Madhyadesa or
Brahma varta. So the argument based on the non-Brahmanical
character of the Vratyas of the Indus and the Punjab becomes point¬
less. (2) The term Brahmana, “son of a Brahman or priest,” suggests
that the priesthood was normally hereditary. There is no definite
instance of a person other than a priest exercising priestly func¬
tions. Nor was this feasible, as the priesthood, even in the Rigveda,
^stinguishes within its fold a vast number of sub-groups of spe¬
cialists and experts. (3) The power of the Purohita over the king
in the Rigveda r derivable from the fact that the correct perfor-

390

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

mance of the sacrifice demanded the services of a hereditary* priest,
is nearly as great as in the post-Kigvedic age. (4) The Rigveda knows
of a ruling class — the Kshatriya — who, as a class of nobles, are ap¬
propriately named in the Purusha-sukta as “Raj any a” or “men of
kingly family.” As kingship was normally hereditary, the Ksha-
triyas were also in all probability a hereditary body. The Sudras
were admittedly a separate group; so ail the elements of the Caste
System were in existence in the age of the liigveda. (5) There are
glimpses in the Rigveda of a threefold (VI II. 35. 16-18) or fourfold
(I. 113. 6) division of the people, corresponding to the well-known
three upper or all the four divisions of the Ca$te System. (6) The
existence of similar classes among the Iranians, namely priests,
warriors, agriculturists, and artisans, makes it very probable that
by the time of the Rigveda the four classes had developed into here¬
ditary caste-groups, owing to the contact of the Arya-varna Aryans
with the dark-skinned aborigines, and the necessity this imposed
on Aryan society of reorganizing its whole structure.

Although there is great force in some of these objections, it
must be conceded that they are not strong enough to upset the re¬
cognized version. The existence of the four classes in Avestan
literature certainly argues for the existence of 'somewhat similar
classes in Rigvedic society, but much stronger positive evidence is
necessary to establish that these classes were hereditary.

Further, the term Brahmana, son of a priest, occurs very rare¬
ly, and the word Brahmaputra, in the same sense, is found only
once. This, when contrasted with the numerous references to
Brahman, seems to indicate that there was no idea of a hereditary
priesthood in the earlier Vedic period.

On the whole, it is difficult not to agree with the views, pro¬
pounded long ago by Muir, that the Brahmanas (far less the Ksha-
triyas or Vaisyas) did not constitute an exclusive caste or race,
and that the prerogatives of composing hymns and officiating at
the services of the gods were not regarded, in the age of the #ig-
veda, as entirely confined to men of priestly families.3 The same
thing was equally, or perhaps more, true of the minor professions,
as the hymn, quoted above on p. 350, refers to the father, mother
and the son following three different vocations in life, viz. those
of a poet, a grinder of corn, and a physician. The heredity of
occupation was, therefore, not yet a recognized principle, far less
an established fact. The utmost that can be said is that there
were recognized professions like priesthood, or distinctions . of
nobility, and these had in many cases a tendency to become here¬
ditary, but, as in other countries or societies, their ranks might
have been recruited from all sections of the community. Of the
other essential features of the Caste System viz., prohibition of in-

391

THE VED1C AGE

terdining and intermarriage, no such restriction is even remotely
hinted at in the hymns of the Rigveda.

3. Marriage and the Position of Women

The Jtrequent mention of unmarried gh'ls like Ghosha, who
grew up in tne nouses of their parents (1. 117. 7; X. 39. 3; 40. 5;,
tne reierences to tne ornaments worn by maidens at festival occa¬
sions m oraer to win lovers (i. 123. 11; Vil. 2. 5), to a youth’s court¬
ship oi tne maiden he loves (1. 115. 2), to the lover’s gifts (I. 117.
18), to their mutual love (I. '167. 3; IX. 32. 5, etc.) and to the spell
(vn. 5o. d. ti) by which a lover hopes to lull the whole household
to sleep while he visits his beloved — all this evidence speaks in
favour of the custom of girls normally marrying long after they
had reached puberty. Some of the passages mentioned above, but
not all, may refer to the hetaera class as existing in Vedic society.
The marriage ceremony also supports this view, as it is presumed
to be immediately followed by consummation (X. 85. 29 ff.).

The restrictions on the field of choice in marriage were few.
Marriage connections with the dasyu-varna people, with whom tho
Aryans came into conflict in India, were probably prohibited.
Among Aryans only the marriages of brother and sister (X. 10),
and of father and daughter were banned.

There seems to have been considerable freedom on the part oi
young persons concerned in the selection of a wife or husband, as
they generally married at a mature age. There is no clear evidence
that the consent of the parent or brother was essential. The latter
appeared on the scene after the parties concerned had come to an
understanding, and their participation as well as that of the “wooer”
(vara) in the formal “wooing” was a mere formality, though it
was an essential preliminary to the marriage ceremony.

The uncomplimentary references to some sons-in-law iVlll.
2, 20; I. 109. 2) suggest that in some cases a bride-price was paid
by a not very desirable son-in-law. Similarly when girls had some
physical defect, dowries, it seems, had to be given (VI. 28. 5; X. 27.
12). When Vimada carried off Purumitra’s daughter against his
will, but probably with the consent of the daughter (I. 112. 19; 116.
1; etc.), we have an admixture of those elements which led to the
formulation, later, of the Gandharva and Rakshasa forms of
marriage.

A hymn in RV (X. 85) — which may be called the wedding
hymn — gives us some idea of the oldest marriage ritual. The bride¬
groom and party proceed to the bride’s house (X. 17. 1), where
the well-adorned bride remains ready (IV. 58. 9) to join the
marriage-feast. * The guests are entertained with the flesh of cows
killed on the occasion (X. 85. 13). The ceremony proper now com¬
mences. The bridegroom grasps the hand of the bride and leads

392

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

her round the fire (X. 85. 36, 38). These two acts constitute the
essence of the marriage and the bridegroom is now the husband
who takes her by the hand ( hasta-grabha : X. 18. 8). The bride¬
groom next takes the bride home in a car, in a wedding procession
(X. 85. 7, 8. 10. .24-27, 42). Then follows the consummation which
is signified chiefly . by the purification of the bride’s garment (X.
85. 28-30. 35).

Perfect harmonv and happiness are praved for in conin«*al life,
which (it is hoped) will be long enough to bless the couple with sons
and <?randsons'(VJJI. 31. 5-9: X. 34. 11: 85. 18. 19. 42 ff.). X. 85. 46
describes the newly married wife as taking up a most respected
position as the mistress of her new household, wielding authority
over the husband’s father, brother, and unmarried sisters. This
verse envisages the case (very probably) of the marriage of the
eldest son in the family, when the old father has retired from active
life. The authority exercised must have been more or less the rule
of love. The wife participated regularly in the sacrificial offerings
of her husband.

The fulfilment of the desire for offspring, and male offspring
in particular,* was the chief aim of marriage. Abundance of sons is
constantly prayed for along with cattle and land, but no desire for
daughters is expressed. This desire for a son is natural in a
patriarchal organization of society. The son alone could perform
the funeral rites for the father and continue the line. Sonlessness
was as much deplored as poverty (III. 16. 5). The adoption of
sons was recognized, though not favoured (VII. 4. 7. 8).

There is very little evidence of the prevalence of the custom
of Sati or widow-burning in the Rigveda, though we nay detect a
semblance or reminiscence of this ancient custom in X. 18. 8, where
the widow is asked to descend from the funeral pyre of her dead
husband on which she was first made to lie. The only safe conclu¬
sion would be that the practice, even if known, was not widely
prevalent, or at best was confined to the Raj any a class, if Indo-Ger-
manic parallels are a correct guide. Rigveda, X. 40. 2 and X. 18. 7,
8 point to the practice of requiring a childless widow to cohabit
with her brother-in-law until the birth of a son. This niyoga is
a kind of short-term levirate. These passages (and I. 124.7 also
which mentions a garta-ruh) are clear evidence that the remarriage
of widows was permitted in certain circumstances, though there
is no clear or definite reference to it in RV.

The Rigved'i certainly permits polygamy (I. 62. 11; 71. 1; 104. 3;
105. 8; 112. 19; 186. 7; VI. 53. 4; VII. 18. 2; 26. 3; X. 43. 1 101. 11,
etc.), though monogamy may have been the rule (I. 124. 7; IV. 3. 2;
X. 71. 4). Whether monogamy developed from polygamy in the
Rigvedic age as Zimmer4 thinks, or whether polygamy is secondary

393

THE VEDIC AGE

as Weber5 believes, cannot be decided. Probably polygamy, though
allowed, was practically confined to the Raj any a class. Polyandry
is not referred to anywhere in the Rigveda „ The few passages
in the wedding hymn (X. 85. 37, 38) in which “husbands” (plural)
are spoken of in connection with a single wife can be explained
on a mythological basis. Female morality maintained a high stan¬
dard, the same degree of fidelity not being expected from the hus¬
bands.

There are few doubtful references to lovers and love-making
(I. 134. 3; VIII. 17. 7). A raho-sufr, “bearing in secret” is mention¬
ed in II. 29. 1. A protege of Indra is referred to as the “castaway”
(pardvjrji or pardvfikta ), presumably as the offspring of illegitimate
love. It is difficult to accept the view of Pischel and Geldner6 that
Ushas is the characteristic ketaera, nor are hetaerae referred to
When women are described aS' going to the samana, though the
dancer (njitu) may have belonged to that class. The so-called
incestuous intercourse between father and daughter in the story of
Prajapati (X. 61. 5-7), and between brother and sister in the dialogue
between Yama and YamI (X. 10) can be satisfactorily explained
(in the opinion of the present writer) on a mythological or astrono¬
mical basis.

Women had to be under the protection of some guardian or
other; for example, in the care of their fathers until marriage, of
their husbands after marriage, and of their brothers if not married;
still they' enjoyed much freedom. They did not always remain
indoors, but moved about freely; they publicly attended feasts and
dances, and there are references to “fair ladies flocking to festive
gatherings.”

4. Education

In the ftigveda, there is no explicit reference to the ceremony
of Upanayana or Initiation (lit., the drawing near or leading forth
Of a boy for study under the teacher) which is regarded as of such
.great importance in later ages. But all primitive people have some
kind of ceremony, signifying the formal admission of an adult youth
to membership of tribe, and we may infer from the closely parallel
Indo-Iranian ceremony of Navjot that the elements of this ceremony
probably existed in the Kigvedic age and even earlier.

The Frog-hymn (VII. 103) quoted above, on p. 349, gives us a
glimpse of the educational system (if system it can be called) of the
Rigvedic age. The fifth verse gives a picture of the earliest Vedic
school by the comparison of the croaking of the frogs to the chorus
of voices heard when a teacher recites *he Veda, section by section
( parvan ), and the pupils repeat his words after him. The first verse
of the hymn suggests through a simile that this concerted school-re¬
citation sprang into life suddenly, at a stated time (the opening of

394

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

the monsoon?), because frogs raising their (rain-inspired) voices at
the opening of the monsoon after lying low for (the rest of) the year
are compared to Brahmai?as, conforming to their fixed annual routine
(vrata). Evidently the entire instruction was orally given. De¬
bates are also referred to (X. 71). The word “ Brahmacharin ” in
the technical sense of a “religious student” is found in X. 109. 5.
The father was not rarely also a teacher, his son taking lessons from
him along with a few neighbouring students. That the sharpening
of the intellect, as well as the development of character, in the
Brahmacharin was aimed at, is seen from the celebrated Gayatrl
verse (III. 62. 10) which prays to Savitri for a stimulation (a whet¬
ting) of the intellect.

While there is no doubt that the instruction was orally imparted,
it is a very debatable point whether the art of writing was known
at all in this age. It is a well-known fact that no actual speci¬
mens of alphabets have been discovered in India which can be
definitely dated before the fourth century B.C. Consequently most
of the scholars are of opinion that the art of writing was unknown
in ancient India. BUhler sought to prove that the Indian merchants
learnt this art in Western Asia and introduced it in their country
some time about the eighth century B.C. This view, which regards
the most ancient alphabet of India (the Brahmi alphabet of Asoka’s
inscriptions) as derived from the North Semitic types of the ninth
century B.C., now holds the field. But the discovery of the numer¬
ous seals at Mohenjo-daro, with pictographic writing (Ch. IX, p. 195)
has put an altogether new complexion on the whole question. It is
now believed by many that the Indus script formed the parent-
source from which the oldest Brahmi alphabets have been derived.
Some are even of opinion that when the Rigveda was finally arranged
in its present form it was written in a script which formed an inter¬
mediate stage between the Indus script and the Aiokan alphabet.
If we accept the old theory of Biihler, we have to presume that the
vast Vedic literature was composed and preserved by oral transmis¬
sion alone — a stupendous feat of memory which appears to be almost
miraculous. On the other hand, if we believe that these voluminous
texts were committed in those old days to writing, we are face' . with
the problem of writing materials, of which we definitely know noth¬
ing. The whole thing is shrouded in mystery which cannot be solved
until more definite facts come to light.

5. Amusements and Entertainments

Music, both vocal and instrumental, was well known. The
Frog-hymn (VII. 103. 7-8) refers to the musical chanting of Brah-
manas engaged in the extraction of the Soma juice. Different vocal
sounds are carefully analysed in that hymn and elsewhere. Sing-

> 395

THE VEDIC AGE

ing is often mentioned as adapted to different ends, such as “chant¬
ing,” “reciting,” “hymning,” etc. Among instruments we find
reference to the vine (lute or string-instrument), vana (flute or
wind-instrument), and the drum. The dancing of maidens is men¬
tioned. Probably, men also danced, as is implied in a simile in
X. 76. 6. The dialogue-hymns of the Rigveda have been the fruitful
source of many theories regarding the earliest form of the drama
(ante, p. 349). One theory is that they are relics of old mysteries
from Indo-European times. Dr. Keith7 holds that dramatic spec¬
tacles, religious in character, were known in the Rigvedic age.
The chariot-race was a favourite sport and source of entertainment,
and the race in general is the source of numerous similes and meta¬
phors in the Ftigveda . The fascination exercised by gambling and
the ruin caused by addiction to it, is often referred to and is actually
the subject-matter of a hymn (X. 34).

6. Food and Drink

Milk and its products, chiefly ghrita ( ghi or clarified butter),
formed the principal ingredient of food. Grain (yava) was parched
or ground into flour with a mill-stone and then mixed with milk
or butter, and finally made into cakes. Vegetables and fruits were
eaten in large quantities.

Meat* also formed a part of the dietary. The flesh of the ox, the
sheep, and the goat was normally eaten, after being roasted on spits
or cooked in earthenware or metal pots. Probably meat was eaten, as
a rule, only on occasions of sacrifice, though such occasions were by
no means rare, the domestic and the grand sacrifices being the order
of the day. This explains why horse-flesh was eaten only at the
horse-sacrifice to gain the strength and swiftness of the horse. The
cow receives the epithet aghnya (not to be killed) in the Rigveda,
and is otherwise a very valued possession. It is difficult to reconcile
this with the eating of beef, but we may get some explanation if
we remember the following: (1) Firstly, it was the flesh of the ox
rather than of the cow that was eaten; a distinction definitely made,
(ii) The flesh of the cow was (if at all) eaten at the sacrifices only,
and.it is well known that one sacrifices one’s dearest possession to
please the gods, (iii) Even In the Rigveda , only Vasas (barren
cows) were sacrificed. For example, Agni is called in VIII. 43. 11
as vasanna* The expression “atithinir gah,f (cows fit for guests) in
X. 68. 3 implies the same distinction.

Milk, drunk warm as it came from the cow, was a favourite drink.
Though the Soma juice, in Rigveda , appears exclusively as a sacrifi¬
cial drink (as “Haoma,” it was prepared ^nd similarly celebrated in
the Indo-Iranian period), it must have been a very popular inebriat¬
ing drink in the original home of the Aryans. It had three kinds
of admixture, with milk, sour milk, and yava. In the Rigvedic

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

period, surd was the popular drink, extremely intoxicating as com¬
pared to the Soma which, though mildly inebriating, was an invi¬
gorating beverage. Surd was probably distilled from grain. It is
condemned as “leading people to crime and godlessness.” Madhu ,
though often used to denote “Soma” or milk or any sweet food or
drink, has also the sense of “honey” in the Rigveda.

7. Dress and Decoration

The dress ( vasana or vastra) consisted of two garments accord¬
ing to the strictly Rigvedic evidence, namely the vasas (or “lower
garment” in a narrow sense) and the adhivasa (an “over-garment”
or an “upper garment”), though in the days of the later Samhitas,
the nivi (or under-garment) came to be used in addition. The
Maruts wear deer-skins, and a muni (X. 136. 2) is clad in skins or
soiled garments.

The atka (a “garment”) appears to be described as woven and
well-fitting, though the real meaning is doubtful. Woollen clothing
was in vogue. A sort of mantle or cloak ( drdpi ) is often mentioned.
A kind of embroidered garment (pesas) seems to have been used by
female dancers (I. 92. 4, 5; II. 3. 6, etc.). A special garment was
worn by the bride at the marriage ceremony; it was later given to a
Brahmana and is called vadhuya. The Maruts are described as
wearing mantles adorned with gold. There was a general fashion
for dressing well as may be inferred from words like sumsas (well-
clad) and suvasana, and there were garments of different colours
too. There is no clear evidence of any differentiation between male
and female dress.

Several ornaments are mentioned in Rigveda . The Karnaso -
bhana was “an ornament for the ear,” apparently for the use of men
(VIII. 78. 3) and that it may have been a gold ornament is sug¬
gested by I. 122. 14 which refers to a deity as gold-eared ( hiranya -
karna). The Kurira (X. 85. 8) was some kind of head-ornament
worn by females, specially brides. The same may be said of ny o-
chanl (X. 85. 6), a bride’s ornament. Khadi was a kind of ring,
worn as an armlet or an anklet (I. 166. 9; VII. 56. 13). Nishka was
a gold ornament worn on the neck, and we shall presently see that
it must have been of a size suitable for its use also as a sort of
currency. Mani was some kind of jewel (whether “pearl” or “dia¬
mond” is not certain) worn round the neck (I. 122. 14). Rukma
was an ornament worn on the breast (II. 34. 2, 8). Garlands were
often worn by men desiring to appear to advantage (IV. 38. 6*
V. 53. 4. etc.). One hymn (X. 184. 3) refers to the Asvins as “lotus-
wreathed.”

The hair were kept combed and oiled. The use of the word
“ovasa” indicates that plaits were worn bv women in dressing the
hair. There are undoubted references to the custom of wearing the

397

THE VEDXC AGE

hair in braids or plaits. A maiden had her hair made in four plaits
(X. 114. 3). It seems from the descriptions of Kudra and Pushan
that men also wore their hair plaited or braided, and the Vasishthas
were noted for wearing their hair in a plait or coil on the right
(VII. 33. 1). The beard and moustache are mentioned, but shaving
is referred to (X. 142. 4). Most probably Kshura means “razor”
in the Rigveda .

8. Knowledge of Medicine and Sanitation

The physician is often mentioned with respect for his skill.
Miraculous cures are ascribed to the twin-gods, the As v ins, who are
the great healers of diseases and experts in the surgical art. Among
diseases Yakshma is frequently mentioned (I. 122. 9; X. 85. 31; 97.
11, 12; 137. 4; 163. 1-6). It denotes “illness” in general, and probably
“consumption” in particular, rendering the body emaciated. . IX.
112. 1 speaks of a physician wanting to cure a fracture in a way
which seems to indicate that the practice of medicine was already
a profession. The entire hymn X. 97 is addressed to the Oshadhis
(the plants) with special reference to their curative powers. So
herbs and plants figured prominently in the materia medica of this
period. Prayers for long life are pretty frequent. The legends
illustrating the reputed healing powers of the Aivins give us an
idea of the general ailments and bodily mishaps. They are divine
physicians who restore eye-sight and cure the blind, sick, and maim¬
ed (VIII. 18. 8; 22. 10; I. 116. 16; X. 39. 3). They rejuvenate the
sage Chyavana (I. 116. 10) and revive the sage Rebha when drown¬
ed and given up as dead. They give a cooling and refreshing
draught to Atri Saptavadhri when suffering from suffocation. They
cure Paravyij of blindness and lameness, and when the leg of
Viipala is cut off in battle, they replace it with an iron one. The
last instance proves that a kind of primitive surgery was practised.

2. ECONOMIC CONDITION

1. Agriculture and Cattle

Agriculture made real headway during the Rigvedic age, al¬
though the practice of ploughing can be traced to Indo-Iranian
times. The operation of tilling the soil meant (as now) the cutting
of furrows in the field with the wooden ploughshare drawn by bulls,
the sowing of seeds in the furrows thus made, the cutting of the
corn with the sickle, the laying of the bundles of corn on the thresh¬
ing-floor, threshing, and finally sifting and winnowing. Irriga¬
tion was known, and helped cultivation. The exact nature of the
grain which was thus grown cannot be ascertained. It was called
Yava and may have been “barley” as it was understood to be in the
later Samhitas. Rice was not cultivated until a later period.

398

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

The Bigvedic Aryans were primarily a pastoral people and na¬
turally cows and bullocks were their most valued possession. These
constituted the chief form of wealth and the only original dakshinoi
(sacrificial fee). The word “ dakshina ” in fact is an adjective mean¬
ing “right/’ or “valuable,” with an ellipse of go (cow), because the
sacrificial fee was a cow placed “on the right side” of the singer
to be rewarded. Similarly one of the words for “fight” was gavishti
“a search for cows.” The name of Aghnyd (“not to be killed”),
applied several times to the cow, shows that the cow was coming to
be regarded as a sacred animal. This feeling of sanctity of the cow
can be traced even to Indo-Iranian times. Cows were kept in stalls
during the night and in the heat of the day. They were allowed to
roam freely in the pastures at other times, and were milked three
times every day. The cow returning from the pasture-land in the
evening and licking her calf fastened by a rope was one of the most
gladdening sights, and the lowing of the milch-kine the most musical
sound to the Rigvedic Aryans. There are even special terms like
“sva-sara” for the time of the grazing of the cows in the morning,
and sarh-gava, for the time when the grazing cows are driven home
together for the milking. The Rigveda is aware of the dangers
to which the grazing cows were liable, such as being lost, falling
into pits, breaking limbs, and being stolen. The ears of cattle were
marked, probably to indicate ownership. Bulls and oxen were
regularly used for ploughing and drawing carts. That the cow
should give warm or cooked milk was a standing wonder. That
the dark or red cow could give shining milk was little short of a
miracle! (VIII. 93. 13).

2. Trade and Commerce

There are clear references in the hymns (I. 56. 2) to trading in
distant lands for profit. The prayers and oblations offered for
“gaining a hundred treasures” (III. 18. 3) are also probably those
of merchants seeking divine aid for success in trade. Apart from
trade with foreign countries, or alien tribes, there must have been
quite an extensive inland trade, but no definite details are available.
Haggling in the market was, however, well-known.

The exchange of commodities on the principle of barter seems
to have been in vogue, but cow had already come to be regarded
as a unit of value (IV. 24. 10). There might have been other recog¬
nized units of value. Great importance attaches to one such unit
called nishka. It meant originally a gold ornament of the shape of a
necklace or a necklet (V. 19. 3). When, however, in I. 126. 2 the
poet celebrates the receipt of a hundred nishkas with a hundred
horses, as a gift, he could hardly be referring to a hundred necklets.
So it probably came to be used as a sort of currency even during
the Rigvedic age.

399

THE VEDIC AGE

Booty in battle was one of the sources of wealth to the State,
and consisted chiefly of « flocks and herds. In individual economy,
dowry and bride-price played no small part. Movable property
could change hands by gift or sale which amounted to barter. Land
was not an article of commerce, and does not seem to have presented
any problems in connection with the transfer of immovable pro¬
perty in the case of the family or of the individual. The population
being scanty and scattered over wide areas, fresh land could be
easily obtained, if needed by a family which had grown to a very
large size with several sons. The rivers of the North-West are re¬
ferred to as yielding gold.

Whether any sea-borne trade was carried on during this age is
a much disputed question, as already noted above (p. 248). The view
that the Rigvedic Indians took part in ocean-shipping is opposed on
the following grounds: (1) The nan (boat or ship) was, in the majo¬
rity of cases, merely a boat or “dug-out” for crossing rivers, and
there may have been large boats in use for crossing the broad rivers
of the Punjab. These boats were so simple in their construction
that only the paddle or oar (aritra) needed for propelling them is
mentioned. There is no mention of masts or sails, of rudder or
anchor. Thus the Vedic Indian was not much of a navigator. (2)
Metanhors used by £u people familiar with the ocean are lacking in
the Riaveda. (3) The numerous mouths of the Indus are ignored,
although that river was the convenient natural outlet to the sea.
Against these arguments must be set down the following facts: (1^
The Rioveda mentions men who go to the ocean (scmudrd) eager
for gain (I. 56. 2; IV. 55. 6) and samudra cannot be explained away
in these passages as standing for the verv broad and wide stream of
the lower Indus. (2) There are some allusions to a trade more ex¬
tensive than that implied by boats for crossing rivers. (3) Verses
I. 116. 3 ff. tell us that the Asvins rescued Bhujyu in the ocean with
a ship of a hundred oars ( sataritra ). A ship of this type could be
needed only for a sea-voyage. (4) X. 136. 5 refers to “eastern and
western oceans.” These passages, in the opinion of the present
writer, clearly indicate that sea-trade was carried on during this age.

3. Occupations and Industries

Some of the important professions and vocations of this period
have been incidentally referred to above. The Brahmanas or the
priestly class dedicated themselves to the highly specialized occupa¬
tion or profession of officiating at the sacrifices and preserving the
sacred hymnology of the Aryans by conducting Vedic classes. The
Kshatriya or Raj any a class had taken to the fighting profession.
Members of the third — the Vaisya — class naturally took to agricul¬
ture, cattle-breeding and other pastoral pursuits, and the various
arts, crafts, and industries. The lowest, the Sudra class, was en-

400

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

gaged in service of ail kinds. But, as noted above, the classes were
not irrevocably bound up with specific occupations. Many Kajanyas
are found among the poets of the Rigveda , and members of tne tnree
higher classes were not rarely promiscuously engaged in cattle-
breeding, during times of peace, and in fighting, during times of
war. Money-lending was practised chiefly by the Vaiiyas, but also
occasionally by Brahmai?as.

It appears from the large number of similes and metaphors
drawn from the art of fashioning chariots for war and race, and carts
for agriculture and transport, that carpentry was an honoured pro¬
fession, the carpenter being also a wheelwright and joiner. He did
all sorts of work in wood, and even carved work of a finer type was
not beyond his skill (X. 86. 5; I. 161. 9; III. 60. 2). The worker in
metal smelted ore in the furnace using the wing of a bfrd as a
bellows to fan the flames. Household utensils like kettles were
made of metal (ay as). What metal the ay as was is uncertain. It
may have been either copper, bronze, or iron, if we suppose that the
word is consistently used in the same sense; but it is also possible
that it is used in more senses than one- Its colour is to be inferred
from the epithets used with it, such as “reddish.” As the use of
copper precedes that of iron in the development of civilization,
ayas may have indicated “copper” or its alloy “bronze”; but this is
by no means certain, and iron may have been known. Earthen¬
ware and wooden vessels were used for purposes of eating and
drinking, along with those of metal. The art of the tanner (char-
?na inna in VIH. 5. 38) and the use of hide are well known. Ox-hide
was used to manufacture bowstrings, thongs (to fasten parts of‘
the chariots), reins and the lash of the whip (VI. 75. 11; I. 121. 9; VI-
47. 26; 46- 14; 53. 9, etc.)- It was also placed above the boards on
which the Soma was pressed with the stones. It is not unlikely that
skin bags were also made with it (X. 106. 10). Among the home and
cottage industries may be mentioned sewing, the plaiting of mats
from grass or reeds, and the spinning and weaving of cloth, chiefly
done by women. Among the other professions may be mentioned
those of the dancer, both male and female, barber ( Vaptji ) and
vintner. It is noteworthy that those who practised these professions
were not looked upon as inferiors in the age of the Rigveda.

Hunting as a sport and profession was known and must have
been practised by the Raj any a class, chiefly with the aid of practised
professionals. Nets and pitfalls were the normal instruments of
capture, and the bow and arrow was also employed. Birds were
caught in nets, and antelopes (risya) in pits. There are some ob¬
scure references to the capture of boars and buffaloes (gaura)-
The lion was caught in traps. The Rigveda is an important source
of our knowledge of hunting in early times. The butcher’s pro¬
fession was also probably known, as the services of a Samitfi (in

401

THE VEDIC AGE

the sense of “one who cuts up”) were probably needed at animal
sacrifices (I. 162. 9; II. 3. 10; III. 4. 10, etc.).

There is no distinct reference to the specific occupation of
slaves. They probably assisted their Aryan masters who did not
think it beneath their dignity to practise all the arts and crafts
needed by society.

4. House-Building and Means of Transport

Although it is suggested that some kind of a distinction between
villages and towns is indicated in I. 44. 10 and 114. 1, city-life is
not much in evidence. The village was a group of houses, built
near each other for purposes of safety, and was surrounded by some
kind of a hedge as a protective barrier against enemies and wild
beasts. It is difficult to determine the exact sense in the Rigveda
of pur which later meant a town. It seems to have been an earth¬
work fortification, protected by a palisade or stone wall. The fre¬
quent mention of the capture or destruction of such strongholds
indicates that they were numerous and scattered all over the country,
and that they could be easily erected like the stockades made by
primitive tribes all over the world- The pur or earth-work fortifi¬
cation may either have been part of the village or just outside it,
to be resorted to in times of emergency. It was called autumnal,
probably because the emergency arose generally in autumn, when
raids from neighbouring tribes became possible at the end of tjie
monsoon, Or the emergency was in the shape of a flooding of the
plains owing to the rising of rivers in autumn.

Houses were made of wood, the beams ( vaihsa ) being made of
bamboo (also'vamsa). The so-called strongholds or forts probably
had a series of concentric walls.

The conception of Pushan as the guardian of the pathways gives
occasion for the numerous references of all kinds of transport and
means of communication such as carts (anas) and chariots ( ratha )
on land and ships on the sea. The Asvins are credited with ships
(or conveyances) moving through the air (antariksha) , which come
uncannily near the modem conception of airships.

The chariots and carts were drawn by oxen, mules, or horses.
The chariots of the rich were drawn by two and sometimes even
four horses. Riding on horseback was also much in vogue. Names
of various parts of chariots occur very frequently in the RV hymns,
and indicate a considerable improvement in their construction over
the primitive types. Travelling was fairly common. Prayers are
offered to the gods (VII. 35. 15) to “give broad paths to travel,” —
paths that should be straight in direction and thornless (X. 85. 23).
A solemn prayer to Indra for the safety of the journey (III. 53.
17-20) gives many interesting details of a cart driven by oxen in
which the journey was made.

402

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

The references to artificial waterways such as kulyd in III. 45. 3
and khanitrimd apab” in VII. 49. 2 make it certain that some kind
of an irrigation system was known. Wells artificially made are
contrasted with springs. Such wells were covered, and are des¬
cribed as unfailing and full of water. The water was raised by a
wheel to which a strap with a pail attached to it was fastened.
These wells could be used for irrigation purposes, when the water
was led off into broad channels (RV, I. 55. 8; X. 101. 6, 7; 102. 11;
VIII. 69. 12; 72. 10).

1 . There is a voluminous literature on the origin and antiquity of the Caste System
in India, to some of which reference will be made in the bibliography. For the
views mentioned in this section see CHI, I, pp. 92 ff.; Muir, Original Sanskrit
Texts, Vol. I; N. K. Dutt, Origin and Growth of Caste in India. In an article
entitled: “Were Castes formulated in the Age of the Rigveda” in BDCRl, II,
34 ff., the present writer has sought to prove that the formulation of castes, if
not the Caste System, was already a fait accompli in the age of the Rigveda.

2. Muir, op. cit., p. 10.

3. Op. cit., pp. 263-4, 280.

4. AL, p. 323.

5. Ind. Stud., V, p. 222.

6. Ved. Stud., I, pp. xxv, 196, 275, 299, 309; II, pp. 120, 154, 179, etc.

7. SD, p. 16.

403

BOOK SIX

THE AGE OF THE LATER SAMHITAS

CHAPTER XX

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

1. LANGUAGE OF THE SAMHITAS

1. Samaveda

A language ceases to change only after death, and so the lan¬
guage of tne Rigveda, even though hieratic and therefore to some
extent artificial, did change in so far as it was a form of living
speech at the same time. The earliest traceable stage in its course
of change is that marked by the variant readings of the Mantras of
the Rigveda contained in the Samaveda. In many cases these Sd-
maveda- variants show forms which, however, seem to be archaic in
comparison with the corresponding forms in the parallel Rik-man-
tras, and therefore it was argued, particularly by Ludwig, 1 that, at
least in some cases, the Samavedic readings should be regarded as
retaining the original text. But the question is, whether these ap¬
parently archaic forms were not the result of conscious efforts on
the part of the redactors of the Samaveda to strike an archaic effect.2
Almost all such forms in Samavedic parallel passages occur else¬
where also in the Rigveda , and none of them needs to have been de¬
rived from a pre-Rigvedic stage of the language. Without entirely
denying the possibility of an original reading having been retained
in some cases only in the Samaveda , it is only fair to conclude there¬
fore that there is no compelling reason to consider the Samavedic
text-tradition as superior to that of the Rigveda , specially as, even
according to Ludwig’s notion, the instances of older forms are more
numerous in the text of the Rigveda.

Moreover, the older forms in the passages of the Rigveda arc
on the whole not at all such as might have been planted in the text
with a view to artificially producing an archaic effect, though that
may be held of Some of the older forms appearing in the Samavedic
readings. Thus vakshatu in SV, II. 9. 1. 16. 3 (=No. 1809) is in¬
deed of older stock than yachchhaiu in the parallel passage RV,
VIII. 34. 2. But it would be wrong to conclude therefrom that the
Samaveda in this case represents the older and perhaps the original
reading, for such a view of the situation cannot but lead to the ab¬
surd position of considering all the Rigvedic passages containing
forms like vakshatu to be older than all the Rigvedic passages con¬
taining forms like yachchhaiu . In fact, the sporadical occurrence
of particular late forms cannot prove the lateness of the texts con¬
taining them, be those texts Rigvedic or Samavedic, for early and
late forms of nearly all categories have been used side by side in every
period of the age of the Sarhhitas. A real change in the linguistic

407

THE VEDIC AGE

habits of the speakers concerned can be postulated only when the
instances of variation point to a general tendency. Such general
tendencies can, however, be clearly perceived in the variant read¬
ings of the Samaveda, and they point invariably to a later stage of
development. Thus the archaic genitive singular feminine form
avya\t has been in all cases changed into avydh in the Samavedic
variants. The enclitic particle im of pronominal origin which was
visibly going out of use already in the Rigvedic language, occurs also
in some passages of the Samaveda, but it is significant that in some
others the reading has been so altered as to eliminate it; thus abhim
Titasya of RV appears as abhy ritasya in SV, payasem as payased,
utem (~uta im) as utim. Similarly, there is a pronounced tendency
in the Samavedic variants to eliminate dissyllabic vowels as a
result of which Rigvedic akshar and prdh had to become aksharat
and paprdh in the Samaveda. The archaic absolutive ending - tvi
occurs only in two of the RiTc-verses repeated in the Samaveda , but
in both this ~tv\ has been changed into -tv a. Accented i does
not in Sandhi change into y (in spite of graphic forms) in the first
nine Man^alas of the Rigveda, but it does in the Samaveda. In con¬
sequence, vi asema devdhitam (RV, I. 89. 8) had to become vy asemahi
devahitam (SV. II. 9. 3. 9. 2. = No. 1874) in which the loss of a
vowel through Sandhi had to be made up for by replacing asema
through later asemahi that does not at all occur in the Rigveda

2. Yajurveda

Next to the Samhitas of the Rigveda and the Samaveda are to
be ranked, from the linguistic point of view, in chronological order,
the Mantra-portions of the Black Yajurveda, which in their turn
are clearly older than the Vdjasaneyi-Samhitd which should perhaps
be dated earlier than the Atharvaveda.6 Regarding the language
of the Mantra-portions of the Taittiriya-Samhitd, Keith has
shown6 that it represents a stage intermediate between the Rig¬
vedic language and the language of the Brahmanas, though re¬
sembling the former much more closely than the latter. The same
may be said also of the language of the other three Samhitas of the
Black Yajurveda, for linguistically the Mantra-portions of all the
four schools are really homogeneous, and therefore must be assigned
to approximately the same age. Without making proper distinction
between Mantra and Brahmana portions, Schroeder tried to prove
the superior age of the Maitrayant Samhitd on linguistic grounds,7
but his arguments are unconvincing. The fact that the root stigh -
of Indo-European antiquity occurs in Indian literature only in the
Maitrayani-Samhita cannot of course prove the antiquity of the
Maitrayani-Samhita itself. Nor can the other peculiarities of the
language of the Maitrayavft and the Ka^haka pointed out by Schroe¬
der be accepted as proof of greater antiquity. The root khya - ap-

408

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

pears in the carious form ksd- in Maitrdyani, Kdthaka and Kapish -
thala, but that is no sign of antiquity as Schroeder was inclined to
believe. It simply shows that in the dialects represented by these
texts the semi-vowel y in khya- became spir antic in pronunciation,
and as such it points rather to a comparatively later age. Similarly,
these three show the form playate for Taittirfya prdyate which is
certainly older. The periphrastic verb-forms utsadayam akar, pra-
janaydm akar and pavayam kuryat, specifically mentioned by Pa¬
nin i8 as characteristic of the Vedic language, actually occur in the
Maitrdyani , but cannot prove it to be older than the Taittiriya, for
the formation is not a primary one, as Keith9 has justly pointed out.
In microscopic details little differences can no doubt be observed in
the four known Samhitas of the Black Yajurveda, but the general
structure of their language is absolutely the same.10 Equally ex¬
treme rarity of narrative perfects in all the Samhitas of the Black
Yajurveda 11 is not only an additional proof of their essential con¬
temporaneity, but also assigns them chronologically to the oldest
period of the Vedic prose. In fact, in this respect the language of
the Black Yajurveda is distinctly more faithful to the Indo-European
basic idiom than the language of the R,igveda itself, for the narrative
perfect, certainly not of Indo-European origin, is much more in
evidence in the latter.12

The Mantra portions of the Taittiriya-Sgmhitd, that are inde¬
pendent of the Rigveda, mark a stage of distinct advance tc wards
the normal language of the Brahmanas. Thus - ebhih for -aih, -a for
-ena, -asah for -dh and -d for dni are steadily diminishing in the
Mantra-portions (and completely disappear from the Brahmana
parts).13 Similarly, the verb in the independent Mantra-parts of
the Taittiriya-Samhita shows a definite tendency to eliminate the
Rigvedic endings - masi , -thana and -tana. The future is a rarity
in the Rigveda, but it is common in the Taittiriya and there is per¬
haps even an instance of periphrastic future (lup), namely anvd-
gantd .13a While the later gerundives in - tavya and -aniya do not
yet occur in the Taittiriya-mantras, the older ones in -a yya and -tua
have almost completely disappeared in them. Lastly may be men¬
tioned as occurring in Taittiriya-mantra the much discussed but
still unexplained verb-forms dhvanayit and ajayit.14 As for the
Vdjasaneyi-Sa'rhhitd of the White Yajurveda, even its oldest parts
(Adhyayas I-XVIII) are certainly later than the Mantra-portions of
the Taittiriya . In the treatment of Rigvedic Mantras it shows much
less independence than the Black Yajurveda and conforms much
more to the Rigvedic text-tradition. As a result, the Kanva school
of the Vajasaneyins has adopted the peculiarly Rigvedic sound l for
intervocalic $ also in its own Saihhita. In language, the Vajasaneyi-
Samhitd does not differ from the Brahmanas.14*

409

THE VED1C AGE

3. Atharvaveda

A linguistic appraisal of the Atharvaveda is unusually difficult,
for very old things have been described in it sometimes in very late
language, but at the same time it also offers forms that would be
regarded as archaic even in the Rigveda. This can perhaps be
best explained on the assumption that though no less old than the
Rigveda in contents, the Atharvaveda was codified and canonized
so late that the redactors considered it necessary to re-dress it in
an artificial garb of hieratic solemnity. At any rate, it is clear
that the redactors of the Atharvaveda had inherited a long tradi¬
tion of Mantra literature of which all the parts seemed to them to
be equally old, and which, therefore, they used indiscriminately
in dressing up the Atharvan text. The basic language of the
Atharvaveda is, however, not too unlike,* say, the Sanskrit of the
grammarian Patanjali, and is on the whole not difficult to under¬
stand, excepting where the text consists of purely magical incan¬
tations, which the authors, as is everywhere the case with similar
compositions, intentionally tried to make obscure.

About one-seventh of the material of the first nineteen of the
twenty Kandas of the Atharvaveda is drawn from the Rigveda .
and in these Kansas Rik-mantras often appear with significant
variants. The twentieth Kan<Ja. the Samhita of the Brahmana-

chchhamsin as we have called it, consists, however, whollv of

• • •»

Mantras drawn from the Rigveda which appear here without a
single variant reading, and among them are contained also Man¬
tras from Valakhilya-hymns.1 ' as, for instance, the first two of
the four verses of AV, XX. 51 are identical with Val. I. 1-2, and
the second two with Val. II. 1-2. 5 r However interesting in other
respects, the twentieth Kantfa is therefore quite valueless from the
linguistic point of view. Linguistically interesting and important
are only those Rik-mantras (drawn mostly from the tenth Mandala)
which are scattered in the other Kansas, for in them a general trend
towards the later language is distinctly perceptible.17 Thus the
later absolutive ending -tt'd often replaces Rigvedic - tvaya or -tvi (e.g.
hitv-n for Rigvedic hitvdya and bhiitvd for Rigvedic bhutvl). Forms
of instrumental plural in -eb/wh and -ai/i are equally current in the
Rigveda, but in the A.thari'aveda, against 263 cases of -aih there
are only 53 of -ebhib.1s The root grabh - becomes grab- in the
Atharvaveda when followed by suffixal -n-, thus producing forms
such as g^ihndmi (for Rigvedic gribhndmi) that are the only forms
current in later Sanskrit. The word syona is always trisyllabic in
the Rigveda, but in the Atharvaveda it is in most cases dissyllabic
as in the later language. The Rigvedic form panthdh in nomina¬
tive plural gives way in the Atharvaveda to the classical form pan -
thdnak on the analogy of adhmnah (from adhvan ), and it. is remark-

410

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

sble that in AV , XIV. 1. 34a ( =RV , X- 85. 23a) panthafy has been re¬
placed by panthdnah even to the detriment of metre.19 But it is
not in the variants of IUk-mantras alone that the late character of
the language of the Atharvaveda is revealed. The vocative singular
masculine Of stems in - variis always ends with -vah in the Rigveda
(e.g., chikitvah from chikitvdms-) , but in the Atharvaveda it already
assumes the classical form in - van (e.g., chikitvan); and the vocative
singular masculine of rant-stems is almost always in - vah in the Rig¬
veda, but in the independent passages of the Atharvaveda it is al¬
ways in -ran,20 as in later literature. As instances of Atharvavedic
innovations in verbal flexion may be mentioned that in the Rigveda
the subjunctive middle ending in the second person singular is -a se,
(e.g. vardhdse); but in the Atharvaveda it is -asai (e.g., nay asai) as
also in the Brahmanas; similarly the parallel ending in the third
person singular is -ate in the Rigveda excepting in one form, but in
the Atharvaveda and later it is exclusively -atai (e.g., srayate in RV ,
but sraydtai in AV).21 Tho only instance of periphrastic perfect in
the Mantra-texts22 is gamaydm chak&ra in AV, XVIII. 2. 27, and the
earliest occurrence of periphrastic future23 is to be found perhaps
in the form anvaganta23:x in AV, VI. 123. 1-2. And again it is the
Atharvaveda and no other Mantra-text that contains gerundives in
-tavya and -aniya, e.g., himsitavya (AV, V. 18. 6) and amantraniya
(AV, VIII. 10. 7). 24

These are the more important features of the Atharvavedic
language that stamp it definitely as the latest of the Mantra-texts
linguistically, and the metrical and non-metrical parts of the Athar¬
vaveda are composed in apparently the same language.25 At the
same time, however, some of the words specially characteristic of
the Atharvaveda . such as hvayami, sarva (as compared with visua),
rajju, etc., are of prehistoric origin26 and therefore would seem to
argue for it a very high antiquity.

2. THE SAMHITA LITERATURE

1. Atharvaveda

From the view-point of contents, there can be no doubt that the
typically Atharvanic charms and incantations are the product of a
primitive culture not far removed from the dawn of human civiliza¬
tion. Mantras of this type are not altogether wanting in the Rig¬
veda, but, being essentially a Srauta Mantrapatha for priests whose
chief concern was the cultivation of Soma ritual it could not include
many of them, since the whole Soma ritual was strictly hieratic.
The Mantras of the Atharvaveda on the other hand were meant for
application at the humbler Grihya sacrifices of the common people
evolved round the plain and simple primitive fire-cult. But the
priestly classes, in course of time, got the control of the originally non-

411

THE VEDIC AGE

Brahmanical Gyihya sacrifices, and, naturally, also compiled a
Mantrapatha for these. This Grihya Mantrapatha is the Athar -
vaveda .

The Srauta Mantrapatha, i.e., the Rigveda, was compiled by
the priests for the priests, and partly for their social superiors,
the princes and potentates. The tone of the Rigveda, therefore,
even where the Mantras are not directly addressed to the gods, is
mainly one of begging and persuading. But the tone of the Athar -
vaveda is altogether different. Here the Brahmana priest is ad¬
dressing his social inferiors from whom he need not turn off the
shady side of his character. Thus in the hymn on the “Brahmana’s
wife” (Brahmajdyd) the priest has demanded a remarkable privilege
for his class ( AV , V. 17. 8):

Even though there were ten non-Brahmana previous husbands
of a woman,

The Brahmana alone becomes her husband if he seizes her
hand.27

It is significant that the verses immediately preceding and follow¬
ing this verse occur also in the Paippalida-Saihhita , and seven of
the verses of this hymn constitute the Rigvedic original (X. 109) of
which it is an expanded version. But this particular verse, plant¬
ed in the hymn to serve an obvious purpose, occurs neither in the
Rigveda nor in the Paippalcida. The point has been still further
emphasized in the following verse (AV, V. 17. 9):

The Brahmana indeed is the husband, neither the Rajanya. nor
the Vaisya.

This the sun goes on proclaiming to the five tribes of men.

The burden of the other verses of this notorious hvmn is. however,
not the Brahmana’s preposterous claim to other men’s wives, but
threats and curses on those who would dare to molest the Brah¬
mana’s wife, e.g. (verse 12): —

Not on his couch reclines a wife bringing a hundred tas dowry?)

In whose kingdom the Brahmana’s wife is restrained through
ignorance.

Not only the Brahmana’s wife, but also his property was sought to be
protected by a similar appeal to people’s superstition. Thus in the
next hymn (AV. V. 181 w>e are told (vv. 9-101: —

Brahmanas have sharp arrows and missiles.

the volley they hurl is not in vain;

Pursuing with fervour and with fury
they cast him down from afar.

They that ruled a thousand
and were ten thousands, —

Those Vaitahavyas were defeated

for having devoured a Brahmana's cow.

412

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

But the trick becomes ridiculous when it is suggested in all serious¬
ness as a way of averting the ill omen of a twinning animal, that one
of the twin calves should be made.over to a Brahmana (AV, III. 28. 2).
Most amusing, however, is the long hymn ( AV , XII. 4) in fierce
denunciation of those who fail to bestow on Brahmanas their barren
cows.

The Brahmana’s supposed privileges have thus been shameless¬
ly asserted in the Atharvaveda , and of his obligations there is hardly
any mention. Thus in AV, III. 58 the Brahmana, it is true, is
praying for glory instead of wealth, but he cannot help adding:
“so that I may be dear to the bestower of Dakshina ( sacrificial fee).”
To the Brahmanas of the Atharvaveda it was evidently more impor¬
tant to be dear to the bestower of Dakshiod than to be dear to the
gods. Nor were the Mantras of the Atharvaveda primarily meant
for those sacrificial sessions (satfras) at w'hich there was neither
Yajamana nor Dakshina .

The community in which the Atharvan priest ordinarily
moved was no doubt the society of the poor and ignorant villagers,
to meet the demands of whose primitive superstitions was his prin¬
cipal professional business. But as even the highest and the mighty
in the land were not above those superstitions, the Atharvan gained
access even to the rulers of the country, and in fact came to be re¬
cognized as the king’s alter ego in the role of his Purohita. How the
Atharvan alone of the various types of priests came to occupy
this enviable position is quite clear. While the other priests were
adepts in the higher Srauta-ritual of which the solemn ceremo¬
nies were performed only at intervals or on special occasions, the
Atharvan had tc advise the king on trivial events of his daily life,
such as a cough (AV, VI. 105). sleep (AV, IV. 5). nightmare (AV,
VI. 45), etc., and therefore had to be constantly in attendance on
him.L'? Who else in these circumstances could be the king’s chief
adviser? Moreover, were not the king’s victories due to the effec¬
tive prayers of his Purohita? A king’s Purohita actually says in
the Atharvaveda » III. 19):—

1. Sharpened is this prayer of mine.

sharpened is my manly strength:

Sharp and imperishable be their rule
whose victorious Purohita I am.

4. Sharper than- the axe.

and sharper than the flame.

Sharper than the thunder of Indra
are those whose Purohita I am.

Since an Atharvan priest was by custom the king’s Purohita it is
but natural that an elaborate hymn of coronation at which, also

41?

THE VEDIC AGE

according to later ritual, the Purohita was the chief functionary —
should be included in the Atharvaveda (IV. 8): — *

1. Being sets milk in beings,

he has become the lord of beings;

Death attends his coronation,

let this king accept this royalty.

2. Stride forward, do not falter (?)

stern corrector, rival-slayer.

Approach, O benefactor of friends,
may you be blessed by the gods.

The hymn also refers to the custom of treading on a tiger-skin at
coronation: —

4. As a tiger on tiger-skin

stride unto the great quarters;

Let all the people and heavenly waters
rich in milk desire you.

There is also a similar hymn intended for recital at the election of
a king (AV, III. 4) : —

1 . To you has come the kingdom, with splendour rise for¬

ward;

as lord of the people, sole king, rule;

Let all the quarters call -you, O king,

may all wait on you and pay you homage.

2. Let the people choose you for kingship,

let these five divine quarters (choose you);

Rest at the summit and pinnacle of your kingdom,
and from there share out riches to us.

That the king had sometimes to be elected, though kingship was
generally hereditary, is clearly suggested by the last verse. The
exact form of government, however, cannot be ascertained from the
Mantras of the Atharvaveda . But that the people were happy
and proud of their motherland is perfectly clear from the splen¬
did Bhumi-sukta (AV, XII. 1) which might have been the national
anthem of Vedic. India30: —

1. Truth supreme and right formidable, consecration and

penance, ^holiness and sacrifice are sustaining the earth;
May she, the mistress of all that was and will be, the earth,
make for us extensive space.

2. (She who ordains) freedom from restraint among men,

whose are the hills and streams equally numerous (?)
Who bears herbs of various virtues —

may she, the earth, spread and prosper for. us.

3. On whom are the ocean and the river and th$ waters,

on whom have sprung food and the peoples,

On whom quickens this that breathes and stirs —
may that earth grant us cattle and also food

41.1

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

8. She who. in the beginning was water in the ocean,

whom the sages followed (?) by means of occult power,
The earth, whose deathless heart, encompassed in truth,
rests in highest heaven —

may she confer glory and strength on our excellent state,

11. Let your hills and snowy mountains

and your forest be pleasant, O earth!

On the earth, brown, black, red, and multiform,
iirm and extended, by Indra defended,

I have stood unconquered, unsmitten, uninjured.

12. What is your middle, O earth, what your navel,

what refreshments arose out of your body,

Instal us in them and be towards us gracious;

Earth is the mother, and I am her son;

Parjanya is the father, may he grant us plenty.

45. May the earth bearing peoples of various speeches
and of customs varying according to their hom?s,

Grant me wealth in a thousand streams
like a steadfast and unresisting milch-cow.

56. What villages, what forests,

what assemblies are on the earth,

What congregations and councils,

there may we speak in praise of you.31
The hymn runs up to sixty-three verses, and at the end, the poet,
dissolving in rapture and gratitude, pours out his heart in these
simple words: —

63. O mother earth, settle me down

and kindlv make me well-established:

In concord with heaven, O sage,
settle me in splendour and glory.

A number of Hymns of the Atharvaveda are on the borderline of
magic and politics.32 As example may be cited AV, VII. 12: —

1 . May the assembly and the council0-** protect me,
the two daughters of Prajapati in agreement;

May he whom I meet seek to help me,

% may I speak pleasantly at the meeting, O fathers:

3. Of these seated here together

I take away splendour and discernment;

Of this whole gathering. O Indra,
make me the possessor of fortune.

Of the same type, but much more elevated in tone, is the oft-quoted
and justly celebrated charm for securing concord (AV. III. 30): —
1 . Like in heart, of like intent
non-hostile do I make you;

One another you should love,

as the cow loves her new-born calf.

415

THE VEDIC AGE

2. May the son do the father's will

and be of one mind with his mother,

May wife to husband honeyed words
and peaceful always speak.

3. May not brother his brother hate,

or sister her own sister';

In full accord, with duty same,
should they speak words gently.

6. Same be your drink and common your food,
to the same yoke together I bind you,

Worship Agni together in harmony
like spokes round the nave of a wheel.

Far more numerous are, however, the charms of a homelier sort.
“House and home, field and river, grain and rain, cattle and horses,
trading and gambling, journeying and returning, serpents and
vermin, furnish the special themes for these prayers and charms.”33
Thus AV, I. 13 is a charm to conciliate the goddess pf lightning: —

1 . Homage be to your lightning, homage to your thunder,

Homage to your bolt which you hurl at the wicked.

2. Homage to you, child of stream, from which you gather

heat;

Take pity on our bodies, and to our children be kind.
Protection against fire is supposed to be achieved by means of the
charm ( AV , III. 21) which begins thus: —

Fires that are in the waters,
in Vritra, in man, and in stones,

Who have entered the plants and the trees,
to those fires be this oblation.

Abundance of grain is secured by means of the charm AV, IH. 24: —

4. As a fountain of a hundred jets,

of a thousand jets, unexhausted,

So is this our grain

of a thousand jets, unexhausted.

5. Collect, O with hundred hands,

pile, O with thousand hands;

Bring about the amplitude here
of what was and will be done.

This charm was applied evidently at the time of gathering corn. The
charm for sowing seed is AV, VI. 142: —

1. Shoot up and multiply by your own strength, O barley,
Fill (?) all the vessels, may not? heavenly thunder destroy
you.

Where we appeal to you, the divine barley that listens to us,
There shoot up like the sky, be unexhausted like the ocean.

416

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

3. Unexhausted are your attendants (?), unexhausted be your
heaps.

Unexhausted those who give you, and also those whom you
consume.

Very curious are the so-called Mfigara-suktas (AV. IV. 23-29), the
first and last verses of each of which occur also in the Black Yajurve -
da34 in connection with a Myigareshti, of which these are obviously
a further elaboration. Each of these hymns (they cannot be called
magical charms, though they are used as such) is addressed to a
separate deity, and every verse of each of them ends with the refrain:
“let him (or do ye ) free us from distress.” Rudra has been invoked
in a long hymn (XI. 2), and as is usual in prayers to this god, has
not been asked to confer boons, but only not to injure. The various
names applied to the god in this hymn naturally call to mind the
Satarudriya.348

Least savoury of the magic charms of the Atharvaveda are
those of witchcraft ( abhichara ) and the like which constitute the
Angiras part of the Saihhita. The purpose of some is defensive,
but the majority of them are offensive in purpose and directed
against human enemies. Evil spirits are firstly called upon to
come out in the open and proclaim their real character, for, as soon
as they do that, they lose their dangerous power of doing injury.
The metal most effective against the demons is lead, which therefore
plays a prominent part in these hymns.

Low and primitive morality speaks in these hymns. But there
are also hymns pregnant with noble sentiments. For instance, the
famous hymn36 to Varm?a (AV, IV. 16):—

1 . The mighty lord on high our deeds, as if a£ hand, espies;

The gods know all men do, though men would fain their acts
disguise.

2 . Whoever stands, whoever moves, or steals from place to place,

Or hides him in his secret cell — the gods his movements trace.

Wherever two together plot, and deem they are alone,

King Varuna is there, a third, and all their schemes are known.

3 . This earth is his, to him belong these vast and boundless skies;

Both seas within him rest, and yet in that small pool he lies.

4. Whoever far beyond the sky should think his way to wing,

He could not there elude the grasp of Varuna the king.

His spies, descending from the skies, glide all this world
around;

Their thousand eyes all-scanning sweep to earth’s remotest
bound.

5 . Whate’er exists in heaven and earth, what’er beyond the skies,

Before the eyes of Varuna, the king, unfolded lies.

417

THE VED1C AGE

The ceaseless winkings all he counts of every mortal's eyes,
He wields this universal frame as gamester throws his dice.
Atharvavedic poetry has reached its peak in this hymn. But to gain
a true view of the Atharvaveda, the other side of the picture should
not oply not be ignored, but should rather be kept more in mind.
Thus there are two imprecations (VII. 95. 96) directed against the
kidneys of an enemy. The purpose of the hymn VII. 70 is to frus¬
trate the enemy's sacrifice, as is disclosed by its very first verse: —

Whatever that one offers with mind, speech, sacrifice, oblation
and Yajus—

Jhat offering of his let Nirriti in concord with death destroy
before it has taken place.

Most typical of the hymns- of this genre are perhaps those with the
refrain “he who hates us, whom we hate” (e.g., AV , II. 19-23).
Along with charms for victory, longevity, cure from fever, etc., wc
find also charms for winning the heart of a maid, e.g., AV, II. 30: —
1 . As the wind shakes the grass
So I shake your mind,

So that you may desire me,

That you may not go away.

4. What was within, be that out,

What was out, be within;

Of the maids of every sort
Seize the mind, O herb:

That magical charms of this sort were not applied exclusively in
connection with extra-conjugal love is, however, clear from a similar
charm (VII. 37) put in the mouth of a newly married bride who
admonishes her groom with these words (accompanied by corres¬
ponding act): —

With my garment produced by Manu do I surround you.

So that you be mine alone, and never even discourse of other
women.

This tyrannical passion has been aptly likened by another poet in
the Atharvaveda (III. 25. 2) to “an arrow, winged with longing,
barbed with love, and whose shaft is unswerving desire” (Bloom¬
field).

Quite a number of medicinal charms are included in the Athar¬
vaveda. The chief malady that was sought to be treated magically is
iakman (this term does not occur outside of the Atharvaveda ). From
the symptoms described it is almost certain that it was nothing
but malarial fever. The plant Kushtha is mentioned as potent in
fighting takmav. but whether as medicine, or as amulet, is not quite
clear. It is interesting to note that in one hymn (V. 22) takman
has been asked to seize the Sudra and the Das! or to go awav to the
Myjavants or “to the Valhikas further beyond.” and in the last
verse the author says quite maliciously that he is sending takman

418

LANGUAGE AND L1TKKATUKE

to the Gandharis, Arigas and Magadhas “like one sending a treasure
to a person.” That tne Atharvaveda should contain charms against
snake-bite is quite obvious. One of them (V. 13) deserves special
mention not only as marking perhaps the lowest bathos of Athar-
vavedic witchcraft but also on account' of the word tdbuva occurring
in its tenth verse: —

Not tdbuva , not tdbuva, yes you are tdbuva; ...

The poison is made sapless by tdbuva ;3C
The word tdbuva of this verse was connected with “taboo” by
Weber, though not without hesitation, and in the same hesitating
manner the etymological equation tdbuva — “taboo” continues to
be accepted or rejected to the present day.304

Of isolated typical hymns of the Atharvaveda, mention should
be made of the one (XL 5) in mystic exaltation of the Brahmachdrin,
from which it is quite clear that the institution of Brahmacharya
as described in the later Gfihya-sutras was fully established already
in the age of the Atharvaveda ,3 ' Similar mystic exaltation, in typi¬
cal Brahmana-prose, of the Vratya (i.e., new convert to Brahma¬
nism) is the theme of the entire fifteenth Kantfa, in the fifth Paryaya
of which Rudra under various designations (Sarva, Bhava, Isana,
Pasupati, Mahadeva) has been mentioned as guarding the various
quarters for the Vratya. Remarriage of widows33 is taken for
granted (vv. 27-28) in the long hymn (AV, IX. 5) on the expiatory
power of the offering of Pahchaudana (i.e., a goat and five rice-
dishes). The . two hymns, V. 20 and 21, are the most important
battle-charms in the Atharvaveda, and they might have been used
also directly as battle-songs. Regarding the apocryphal Kuntapa-
suktas, it should be noted that Parikshit, probably of the Kuru-
dynasty, has been mentioned in the first of them39 as a king in
whose kingdom the people were prosperous. From the literary
point , of view the most interesting is the seventh Kuntapa which is
nothing but a Vedic nursery -song with the refrain: “not there is that,
O maid, where you think.”

2 . Yajurveda

As for the Yajurveda, the Samhita portion appears in an ex¬
tended form in the latest of the Yajurveda-Samhitds, viz., the
Vajasaneyi-Samhita, of which only the earlier parts, in practically
the same form and language,40 but not necessarily in the same order,
appear in the Samhitas of the Black Yajurveda .41 From the view¬
point of literature and contents, therefore, a survey of the Vdjasa -
neyi-Sawhita , as given by Winternitz,42 suffices for the Mantra-
parts of the whole Yajurveda . A fresh survey of the same literature
need not be attempted here, especially as the ultimate literary
value of the Yajus-mantras is nil. Yet it may be mentioned in
passing that in the Satarudriya section (Adhyaya XVI) of the Vdja -

4 IQ

THE VEDIC AGK

saneyi-Samhitd the terrible god has been invoked under various
designations, the result, no doubt, of the aversion to uttering directly
his real name that can be perceived already in the Atharvaveda.
The most interesting, however, is the section on Purushamedha
(Adhyaya XXX), where, in the language of ritual symbolism, the
various then existing classes and castes have been mentioned,
which, according to Weber,43 point to a period of unrest and turmoil.

3. THE BRAHMANAS

X. Language

The Brahmana literature is vast and varied, but also dry and
repulsive, excepting where, leaving their proper subject which is
mystical and puerile speculation on ritual practices, the Brahmana
authors cite illustrative examples from social life, invent aetiological
myths to serve as the basic principle to all imaginable concrete
facts, or simply narrate mythological or semi-historical stories,
sometimes in the form of ballads.44 The prolixity of the Brah-
mana-authors is sickening, and yet the texts are not at all perspi¬
cuous, in spite of their huge bulk in some cases. But the language
with its even rhythm is not without a beauty of its own, strangely
like that of the early canonical texts in Tali. The Satapatha-
Brahmana and the Jaiminiya-Brdhmana , however, show a fully deve¬
loped literary stj e. This is important, for it is much more difficult
to develop a literary style in free prose than in verse, and is possible
only after considerable literary culture.

The Brahmana texts, together with the prose parts of the
Atharvaveda and the Yajurveda, are perhaps “the only genuine
prose works which the Sanskrit, as a popular language, has pro¬
duced.”45 Broadly speaking, the language of the Brahmanas is
homogeneous. At the same time, however, every one of the older
Brahmana texts has its own minute linguistic peculiarities. Panini’s
grammar offers a unique criterion by which to judge them. It
cannot be proved that Pat? ini was acquainted with the Samhita or
the Brahmanas of the White Yajurveda 46 though he certainly knew
all the other Samhita-texts known to us, as well as the Aitareya-
Brahmana*7 Now, to explain this curious fact it cannot be reason¬
ably argued- — as is often done — that though the White Yajurveda
was considerably older, yet Panini had no personal knowledge of
it for the good reason that it was produced in .eastern India; for
Papini certainly knew the Ta‘'*tifiya-Samhita, a product ,of the south,
and the Maitrayani-Samhita, a product of the west, though he him¬
self was at home in the north. His apparent ignorance of the White
Yajurveda therefore must be regarded as a proof of the latter's
comparatively late origin. But it also proves that for a composite
picture of the language48 of the Brahmanas one may confidently

430

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

appeal to Panini. For details, however, which prove the older

Brahmanas to be much older than Panini, special studies arc
necessary.

Nothing is more characteristic of Brahmana prose than the
substitution of the ending -ai for both in ablative and genitive
singular of feminine stems (e.g., bhumyai for bhumydh). Forms
in this anomalous -ai occur already in the prose parts of the Athar¬
vaveda; but oftener in the Mantras of the Yajurveda , and very
frequently in the Brahmanas. In the Jaiminiya-Brdhmana, this
-ai has even completely supplanted the usual -d/t,49 but it does not
occur at all in the ^atapatha-Brdhmana of the Kanva— recension.60
Ihe an-stems are very often endingless in locative singular in the
Rigveda, and not a few times also in the Atharvaveda, but in Brah¬
mana prose ahan and dtman5 1 are the only two endingless locatives
in living use.02 In its verbal system, too, the language of the
Brahmanas is in many respects sharply distinguished from that of
the Mantra-lexts. The loss of augment is here restricted practically
to prohibitive constructions with rnd, as in the classical language, 3
and the so-called injunctive too is found in Brahmana prose hardly
ever except after this prohibitive rna.54 The subjunctive finds its
place, not in narrative, but in direct speech.543 Faint traces of
gerunds in -am can be found already in the Rigveda,1 55 but they
are quite common in the Brahmanas,-3 and past active participles
in - tavant , quite unknown in the Rigveda, but quite common in
the later language, begin to appear furtively in them.57 The suffix
-uka with the meaning of a present participle is a marked characte¬
ristic of the language of the Brahmanas.58 as also the infinitive in
-toh in construction with isvara.i9 The use of riipam kri - in the
sense of “to become’’ is a peculiar feature of Brahmana syntax.00

In the use of the tenses of the past the Brahmanas show much
more precision than the Rigveda. The aorist is rarely used in them
outside of direct speech, and in narration the tense of the past used
in the Brahmanas is normally the imperfect, but not unoften also
the perfect.01 The perfects with a heavy reduplication have re¬
gularly a present meaning, but other perfects are used as often or
oftener also in narrative past, 6 13 and the frequency of this nar¬
rative perfect is rightly regarded as a sign of comparative lateness
of the texts concerned.02 Pan ini’s rules about the tenses of the
past are not applicable to Brahmana prose, but it is curious to note
that of the few narrative perfects occurring in the Brahmana-
portions of the Taittiriya-Samhitd not a single one has been used to
relate personal experience — so that in this respect at least they arc
fully in accord with Paninean grammar.03 The periphrastic per¬
fect with kri- as auxiliary, of which the earliest occurrence in the
Atharvaveda has been noted above, is fairly common in the Brah-

421

THE VED1C AGE

manas, but that with as- is extremely rare, and no form with bhd
can be quoted at all.04 In this respect, too, the language of the
Brahmai.ias is in essential agreement with Panini who per¬
mits only kri-, though already Katyayana and Patanjali
twisted the meaning of the relevant Sutra of Panini so as to include
also bhu- and as-.6S On the whole, the language of the Brahmanas
is more precise in expression than that of the Mantra-texts, and
as a living and forceful form of speech it is infinitely superior to the
monstrous prose of the classical writers.66

2. Literature

The literaure of which this language is the vehicle is, however,
arid and dismal, and could have been the product of only a very
primitive intelligence. And yet it was in the age of the later Brah¬
manas that the older CJpanishads were composed, and Panini s peer¬
less grammar — perhaps the highest product of ancient Indian scien¬
tific thought6 ; — was written. It is clear that the intellect and
mentality revealed by the extensive Brahmana texts wras the mono¬
poly of the cabalistic priests of the later Vedic age, and not a cha¬
racteristic of the enlightened sections of the people. As “literature”
the Brahmanas, digressive portions apart, may prove to be of interest
only to students of abnormal psychology.00 At the risk of a little
exaggeration it may perhaps be maintained that all that is noble and
beautiful in Hinduism was foreshadowed already by the Rigveda ,
and all that is filthy and repulsive in it, by the Brahmanas. The
morality of the Brahmana texts is no higher than that of primitive
medicine-men. Thus in connection with the Mahavrata sacrifice
most immoral and obscene acts are enjoined to be performed in the
presence of pious spectators.63 The grasping greed of the Brahmin,
so much in evidence already in the Atharvaveda, has passed all
bounds in the Brahmanas. Here the Brahmin coolly claims that in
every dispute between a Brahmin and a non-Brahmin the judgment
should be given in favour of the Brahmin.70 With a cheerful dis¬
regard of other people’s interest a Brahmana author has declared
that a murder is no murder if the victim is not a Brahmin!71 And
another declares with the same cool confidence that the Sudra is
yathCihamavadhya , i.e., one who can be killed at will.72

Scarcely less repulsive than this mentality of the Brahmana
authors is their sickening prolixity. Lack of logic they tried to
compensate for by repeating ad nauseam the same insipid thought.
Hence the inordinate bulk of some of the Brahmana texts. But
when no reasonable limit is set to a book, it is bound to take in
much that is irrelevant, and it is these irrelevant portions of the
Brahmanas that are of interest from the view-point of literature.
The true stuff of the Brahmanas is dismal. If in the ritual it is
required to move a cup an inch from east to west, the Srauta-sutras

422

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

will simply state that and nothing more. But a Brahmana is almost
sure to spin out a whole paragraph in “elucidation” of this act
that may very well be as follows: “The cup should be moved from
east to west, because the sun moves from east to west. He who
moves the cup from east to west moves, therefore, also the sun,
and thus conquers the world of heaven. It is moved
an inch, because ' an inch is the twelfth part of a foot. And
the foot is a metre. The Jagati-metre has twelve syllables. In
that he moves the cup an inch which is the twelfth part of a foot;
he therefore moves the metres.” This sounds strange no doubt.
But, all the same, this is the stuff of which the Brahmanas are made-
Everything else that is found in the Brahmanas is, strictly speaking,
irrelevant.73

In these irrelevant portions, however, may be found pieces of
truly literary composition, though never of a high order. They are
of various genres. Firstly, there are the Gathas or narrative verses,
composed in a language more archaic than the average language of
the Brahmanas, but less so than that of the Saxhhitas.74 Then there
are interesting legends like that of the Great Flood,76 but most of
them are frankly aetiological. Quite a number of beautiful stories
are contained in the Brahmanas in which the gods indulge in pranks
with the mortals much in the fashion of their Olympian compeers.76
It is very characteristic of the Brahmana authors that sin is generally
regarded by them as a physical defilement.77 But genuine devo¬
tion to truth is not wanting. Thus when Aruna Aupavesi in his
old age was asked by his relations to establish ritual fires and become
an Ahitagni, he shuddered in horror and replied that he doesn’t
dare, for an Ahitagni has to control his speech ^nd can never speak
an untruth, since “worship, above all, is truthfulness.”78 That by
truth the Brahmana authors meant more than mere accuracy in
speech is clearly suggested by the story of a dispute between mind
and speech that was settled by Prajapati in favour of mind on the
ground that speech is the messenger and imitator of the mind.73
As regards speech concrete, the Brahmanas clearly state that the
speech of the country of the Kuru-Paiichalas is the best.80 And
abstract speech ( naman ) has been connected with form (rupa) in
a Brahmana text8 1 quite in the manner of later philosophy. The
daily performance of the five Mahdyajnas (offerings to gods, to beings,
to the Fathers, the study of the Veda, and charity), the corner-stone
of orthodox Hindu sociology, has been enjoined for the first time in
a Brahmana text.81a The doctrine of reward and retribution after
death for good and evil done during lifetime is also mentioned
clearly in the Brahmana texts,32 but the doctrine of rebirth is con¬
spicuous by its absence, though the possibility of re-death in the

423

THE VED1C AGE

world of the Fathers has been recognized already,6"1' and further that
during sleep life temporarily separates from the body.6 ’

If treatment of women is a criterion of civilization, then the
civilization of the. Brahmana texts can expect only an adverse
verdict from posterity. In the Kigvedic age, the newly
married wife used to be greeted with the words: “you should address
the assembly as a commander,”85 but the Brahmana authors, after
identifying the woman with Nirriti (i.e. evil),80 declare that “the
woman, the Sudra, the dog, and the crow are falsehood ( Anrita ).”37
Marriage by purchase must have been common — if not the rule-
in the age of the Brahmanas, for in deprecation of a faithless wife
a Brahmana text says: “she commits an act of falsehood who though
purchased by her husband goes about with others.”83 There was
no question of women freely addressing assemblies in this age, for
the same text69 lays down that women should not attend meetings.
In every respect the culture of the priestly classes was at its lowest
ebb in the age of the Brahmanas. But it was still alive, though con¬
fined within a small coterie. The Upanishadic seers vitalized it
again, but gave it an altogether different form.

4. THE ARANYAKAS

The Aranyakas ( “Forest- texts”), the concluding portions or ap¬
pendices to, the Brahmanas are so called (it is generally supposed)
because their contents are of so secret and uncanny a nature that
they would spell danger if taught to the uninitiated, and had there¬
fore to be learnt in the forest and not in the village. They are
concerned neither with the performance nor with any explanation
of the sacrifice, but with its mysticism and symbolism. They form
a natural transition to the Upanishads, the oldest of which are
either included in or appended to the Aranyakas, the line of demar¬
cation being not always easy to draw. The Aranyakas, and Upani¬
shads by themselves, and not the system of philosophy based on them,
were originally called “Vedanta” (literally, the concluding portions
of the Veda) — a title applicable to them in more senses than one as
follows: —

(1) From the point of view of relative literary chronology, they
stand at the end of the Veda. (.2) As the most obstruse and mystical
of the Sruti works, they were naturally taught to the pupil towards
the close of the period of his apprenticeship wuth his Guru. (3)
They formed the end of the daily Vedic-recital.

As component (and concluding) parts of the Brahmanas, the
Aranyakas (and some Upanishads) are found attached to as many
Sakhas (Vedic schools) as the Brahmanas belong to The Aitareya
Aranyaka is appended to the Aitareya Brahmana of the RV\ It
consists of five books which are looked upon and designated as five
separate Aranyakas. The first deals with the Soma sacrifice from

424

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

the ritual point of view. The second is intermixed with theosophical
speculations on Praoa and Purusha, and is Upanishadic in character,
the last four chapters actually forming the Aitareya Upanishad.
The third book contains allegorical and mystical meanings of the
Saihhita, Pada, and Krama texts (Pathas). The last two books
contain miscellaneous matter, such as MahanamnI verses and details
about the Nishkevalya Sastra, to be recited in the Mahavrata, and
are attributed to Asvalayana and Saunaka— two Sutra authors. The
Sdnkhdyana or Kaushitaki Aranyaka is the concluding portion of the
Kaushitaki Brahmana of the RV and agrees very closely with the
Aitareya Aranyaka in its contents. It consists of fifteen chapters
of which 3 to 6 constitute the long and important Kaushitaki Upa-
nishad . In the Black Yajurveda, the Taittiriya Aranyaka is only
a continuation of the Taittiriya Brahmana . It consists of ten chapters
or prapathakas (commonly called Aranas), 7 to 9 constituting the
important Taittiriya Upanishad . The tenth chapter called Mahd -
ndrdyava Upanishad is a very late addition to the Aranyaka. In the
White Yajurveda the fourteenth book of the Satapatha Brahmana is
in name only an Aranyaka — the Brihadaranyaka — the last six chap¬
ters of which constitute the celebrated Upanishad of that name and
the major part of the so-called Aranyaka.

For the Samaveda, the only Aranyakas are the first Arany aka-
like section of the Chhdndogya Upanishad , which belongs probably
to the Tdndya-Mahd-Brdhmava and the Jaiminiya Upanishad Brah-
mava which is nothing but an Aranyaka of the Jaiminiya or Talava-
kara school of the SV and comprises the well-known Kena (or
Talavakdra) Upanishad.

It is not necessary to discuss here the contents of the Aranyakas,
as the principal ideas contained in them will be dealt with in the
chapter on religion and philosoph}' (Ch. XXII).

1. Der Rigveda , Band III, p. 92.

2. See Oldenbcrg. Prolegomena, p. 274.

3. Ibid., pp. 92-3.

4. For further instance of evidently intentional alteration of Rigvcdic passages in
the direction of later forms in the Samaveda. see Oldcnberg. op. cit.. pp. 277-81.

5. See Keith. HOS. XVIII. p. clxv.

6. Op. cit.. pp. cxl ff.

7. See his Maitrayam Samhita. Vol. I. pp. xiv-xviii and Vol. II. pp. viii-x.

8. Ill, 1. 42.

9. Dp. cit.. p. xcv.

10. Ibid., p. xevi.

11. Ibid., p. xcvii.

12. See Wackernagel. Altindische Crammatik. Vol. I, p. xxxi.

13. See Keith, op. cit.. pp. cxl ff.

13a. This form, probably with the same function, occurs also in the Atharvaveda
(see below).

14. See Whitr.ev. 1048. 904b.

14a. The Mantra portions of the Yajurveda are devoid of literary value, and there¬
fore will not be discussed further in this chapter. For social and political history,
however, these portions are very important and in that connection the’' will
be discussed in other chapters.

35. The ten Kuntaoa-suktas (regarded as Khilas) placed towards the end of the
twentieth Kanda are curiously analogous to the Valakhilya-hymns of the

425

THE VEDIC AGB

Rigveda, also placed towards the end of what was originally perhaps the . final
l&andala of the Rigveda.

16. A curious fact that seems to have escaped notice so far is that the last hymn, of
the Atharvaveda (XX, 143) consists of RV, IV. 44 (seven verses) followed by
RV, IV. 57. 3 and RV, VIII. 57. 3 (= Val. IX. 3). Does it show that when the
twentieth Kantfa was put together the genuine Rik-samhita was supposed to
conclude with the Valakhilya verse RV, VIII. 57. 3 which the final redactors
of the Atharvaveda wanted to put at the end of their Saihhita also? If this is
conceded, then it will be possible to argue further that the twentieth Kanda of
the Atharvaveda was constituted not long after the composition of the Aitareya
Brdhmana , which, as pointed out above, knows only eight Valakhilyas. Wny
tne penultimate verse also, like the final one, should be the third verse of a
fifty-seventh hymn of the Rigveda is difficult to say. At any rate, this numerical
identity can be hardly fortuitous. It is striking to note that originally it might
have been easily the last verse of the fourth Mandala of the Rigveda, though
in the present text it is the third verse of the penultimate hymn of that
Mandala. Thus the final verse of the Atharvaveda was probably also the final
verse of the original Rik-Samhita. , and the penultimate verse of the Atharva¬
veda might have been the last verse of its first half. Was it the intention of
the final redactors of the Atharvaveda in putting these two verses at the end
to emphasize in their usual mystical manner that their work was now doubly
complete?

17. See Oldenberg, Prolegomena , pp. 320 ff.

18. Waekemagel, Altindische Gxammatik, Vol. Ill, § 52a.

19. Op. cit., p. 308.

20. See /bid., pp. 258, 301.

21. See Macdonell, Vedic Grammar, p. 322.

22. Macdonell, op. cit., § 496.

23. Macdonell, op. cit., § 540.

23a. The same form occurs also in Taitt. Sam, V. 7, 7. 1, but there too it is not
quite clear whether it has been used actually as a periphrastic future.

24. Op. cit., § 581a-b.

25. A complete list of the non-metrical passages of the Atharvaveda has been
given by Lanman, HOS , Vol. VIII, jd. 1011.

26. See Bloomfield, The Atharvaveda, p. 47.

27. In rendering passages of the Atharvaveda I have, as far as possible, followed
Whitney’s translation, though it. is wooden and purely etymological; for what¬
ever it may be in other respects, it is at least literally correct.

28. Qompare in* this connection also AV . XII, 5. 3 ff.

29. It is probably due to this exalted office of king's Purohita that the Atharvan
priest, under the designation “Brahman,” became the supreme supervisor also
at the great 6rauta- sacrifices of his noble patron, in consequence of which the
Atharvaveda itself came to be known as the Brahmaveda. Various scholars
have expressed various opinions as to the inter-relation between, or the identity
of. the Atharvan, the Brahman, arid the Purohita (see specially Bloomfield,
op. cit., § 34, and Vedic Index under “Purohita” and “Brahman). The theory
suggested here seems, however, to offer the best explanation.

30. The grandeur and beauty of this hymn has been completely destroyed by
Whitney in his etymological translation.

31. This verse contains important terms of indefinite political connotation. I have
provisionally accepted them here in the following senses: sabha = assembly.
sa grama = congregation (Whitney: host), samiti = council.

32. See Bloomfield, cp. cit., § 54.

32a. Sabha and Samiti , for the constitutional importance of which cf. pp. 357 433.

33. Op. cit..’ ^ 57.

34. See Whitney-Lanman’s preface to IV. 23; Bloomfield, op. cit., p. 82.

34a. Taittinya-Samhita. IV. 5; Vdjasancyi-Samhitd, XVI.

35. The translation given here is taken from Muir’s metrical rendering of the
hymn which reproduces the spirit and meaning of the original much more
accurately than Whitneys wooden and etymological translation.

36a. See above, Ch. VIII. pp. 153..

verse is the positive counterpart, of ned (na id).

36a. See above. Ch. VIII, pp. 153.

37. It is characteristic of Atharva vedic loose thinking that in v. 18 of this hymn
Brahmacharya has been recommended not only for women, but also for animals.

38. The Rigveda recognizes levirate, but remarrige of widows is not directly men¬
tioned in it. Cf. Ch. XIX. p. 390.

39. See Vedic Index under “Parikshit.”

426

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

40. The linguistic differences discussed earlier in this*- chapter are not important
enough to make out a case for distinct dialect nr any one of the Saihhitis of
the Yajurveda.

41. See supra, Ch. XU.

42. HIL, I, pp. 171-87.

43. HIL , pp. 110-11.

44. Perhaps the best exposition of the Brjhmapa literature will be found in La
doctrine du sacrifice dans lee Brihmanae by L4vi and Die Weltanschauung der
Brahmaiya-textc by Oldenberg.

45. Efegcling, SBE, XU, p. xxv.

46. See Paul Thieme, P&nini and the Veda , pp, 73-6, where previous literature on
this problem has been indicated.

47 . See Liebich’s genial monograph Pdnini, ein Beitrag xur Kenntnis der indischen
Literatur und Grammatik.

48. But not for syntax.

49. Wackemagel, AHindische Grammatik , Vol. HI, | 15d.

50. The Kanva-Satapatha in this regard thus differs not only from the MAdhyandina-
Satapatha, but also from all the other Brihmapas. See Caland, Introd. to
Kanva-Sat., p. 65.

51. Again it is interesting to note regarding the &aiapathn-BrthvM3ya. that the
locative singular of n-stems “has nearly always the -i in the Klepva-recension,
but is formed by the Madhyandlnas nearly always without case sign.” Caland,
op. c it., p. 38.

52. Wackernagel, op. cit., Vol. HI, I 145d.

53. Whitney, § 587d.

54. Whitney. $ 563.

54a. See Keith, HOST, XXV, p. 87.

55. Whitney, § 995a.

56. On this -am see particularly Renou, Mbnoire de la SocUU LlngulsHq ae de Paris ,
tome XXm, 1935, pp. 356-92.

57. Whitney, $ 960.

58. Whitney, 9 1180.

59. Whitney, 5 984c.

60. Whitney, 9 268a. This need not be surprising, for the original meaning of rupa
was “assumed form” as in the Rigveda. The literal meaning of rupam kri was

-thus “to assume a changed form,” i.e. “to become.”

61. See Delbriickt Altindische Tempuslehre , p. 128.

61a. The different values of the perfect in Vedic literature have been thoroughly
discussed by Renou in his La Valeur du Par/ait, Paris, 1925.

62. See Keith, HOS, XXV, p. 86.

63. See Keith, HOS , XVI II, p. cUv, fn. 1.

64. See Whitney, { 1073.

65. See Liebich, op. cit., p. 80.

66. See also Keith, HOS, XVIII, p. clvii.

67. It should not be forgotten that until the nineteenth century Europe could not
produce in the field of grammar and philology anything that can bear com¬
parison with Panini’s Ashtadhy&i.

68. I cannot but agree on this point with Leopold von Schrdder ( Indians Literatur
und Cultur, p. 114).

69. See Keith, RPVU. p. 351. It should not be forgotten, however, that the Maha-
vrata was originally a popular folk-festival over which the Brahmins merely
threw a mantle of ritual sanctity.

70. Taittiriya-Samhiid 13. 5. 11. 9.

71. " $atapatha-Brahma\ia, XIII. 3. 5. 3.

72. Aitareya-Brahmana, VII. 29. 4. It should not be forgotten however that in the
orthodox MImarixsa-school of interpretation such passages are taken to be mere
rhetorical exaggerations (Arthavada). That they really are exaggerated state¬
ments and must not be taken literally is quite obvious, though, strangely enough,
most of the non-Indian scholars have taken even such statements to be literally
true. Passages of like import are quite common also in the ManusmriH , but no¬
body has ever suggested that in the Sunga period the treatment prescribed by
Mam? was actually meted out to the Sudras. There is no reason to doubt that
the B rah mana- passages, like those about Brahmins and 6udras referred to here,
were mere Arihavddas from the very beginning. But since the mind of a man
can be measured also by the exaggerations he is in the habit of making, these
Anhardda-passages cannot be ignored in estimating the moral outlook of the
Brhhmona authors.

427

THE VEDIC AGE

73. The relevant portions, though devoid of literary value, arc not without interest
for social history. Thus from our hypothetical Brahmana-passage it is possible
to infer that the Brahmana authors thought that the sun moves from east to
west, and that they knew that a Jagatl-pada consists of twelve syllables.

74. The most famous narrative in Gathas is the Sunahscpa-legend in the Aitareya -
Brahmana , VII, 13-18. As it is not possible to do justice to the truly literary
compositions contained in the Brahmanas within the space available here, only
a few of their salient features will be indicated. For a fuller account, see Winter-
nitz, op. cit.. pp. 187 ff.

75. Satapatha-Brahmana, I, 8. 1.

76. See, for instance, the story of &aryata Manava and his daughter Sukanya in the
$atapatha-Brahmana, IV. 1. 5. 2. This story appears also in the Jaiminiya -
Brahmana, Set* Caland, Auswahl. pp. 251-2, and my Collection of Fragments of
Lost Brahmanas , pp. 25-29.

77. See Keith, RPVU, p. 245.

78. Satapatha-Brdhmana, II. 2. 2. 20.

79. Taittiriya-Samhita , II. 5. 11. 4; Satapatha- Brahmanas, I. 4. 5. 8-11.

80. See Ve d. 7nd., II., p. 279.

81. Taittiriya-Br&hmavia, II. 2. 7. 1.

81a. Satapatha-Brahmana , XI, 5. 6. Iff.

82. See Keith, RPVU,' p. 474.

83. Op. cit., pp. 572-3.

84. Satapatha- Brahmana, III. 2. 2. 23.

85. RV, X. 85. 26: vasiut tvam vidatham dvadasi.

86. Maitrdyani-Samhita , I. 10. 11.

87. Satapathd-Brahmana, XIV. 1. 1. 31.

88. Maitrdyani-Samhita, loc. cit.

89. Op. cit., tV. 7. 4: tasmat pumdmsah snbJtam yanti. na striyah.

428

CHAPTER XXI

POLITICAL AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS

1. POLITICAL THEORY

The lack of a spirit of inquiry into the rationale of social and
political institutions is generally regarded as a singular characte¬
ristic of oriental civilization including the Indian. Thus an eminent
scholar1 writes: “To the early Eastern mind, the fact that a thing
existed was sufficient of itself to show its right to be. Thus was
effectually excluded all possibility of inquiries as to the relative
perfection, or justification for the existence of, de facto social and
political institutions.” But this view is not wholly accurate. For
the dim beginnings of speculation regarding the origin of Kingship,
the raison d’etre of the state, the status and relation of different
classes in society and the justification of the same, together with
other cognate problems, can be clearly traced in the literature
even of the early period with which we are dealing. Unfortunately,
as this literature, our only source of information, is wholly sacer¬
dotal in character, the theories and speculations are presented in a
theological and metaphysical environment. It is, however, import¬
ant to note, that instead of passively accepting whatever existed in
state or society, there was an active effort to trace the origin of
institutions and offer an explanation of how things came to be
what they were. It is a reasonable presumption that if the secular
literature of the period had been preserved, we would have come
across more rational theories based on logically .grounded belief
rather than on faith or dogma.

The political theories are sometimes discussed in connection
with the gods, whose thoughts and activities are, however, so much
akin to those of men, that no great stretch of imagination is required
to interpret the views as equally, or really, applying to humap
affairs. This is best illustrated by the fundamental question of the
origin of kingship. This definitely forms a subject of speculation
in the literature of this period, and the Brahmana texts • anticipate
writers on polity of a later period by clearly formulating the* question,
“how is it that the king who is one rules over so many subjects.”
There are various replies to this question, and it is interesting to
note that they form the germs of the more elaborately propounded
views of later times. The first in point of importance is the view
put forth in the Aitareya Brahmana (I. 1. 14). It is said that the
“gods and demons fought with one another, but the gods were
defeated. The gods said: ‘It is because we have no king that the

429

THE VEDIC AGE

demons defeat us, so let us elect a king/ They elected a king, and
through his help obtained complete victory over the demons/’ As
Dr. Beni Pras id has very rightly observed,2 “here the kingship
originates in military necessity and derives its validity from con¬
sent/’ Though appearing under the thin disguise of divine affairs,
there can be hardly any doubt that it is a very rational view of the
origin of kingship which prevailed among a class of political thinkers
of the period.

A somewhat similar view appears in another garb in the same
Aitareya Brdhmana (VIII. 4. 12). The story is told with reference
to Indra’s kingship. “The gods headed by Prajapati said to one
another, ‘this one is among the gods the most vigorous, the most
strong, the most valiant, the most perfect who carries out best any
work (to be done). Let us instal him in the kingship.” Here,
again, the kingship originates in election and common consent, based
on the possession of the highest qualities by the chosen candidate.

But side by side with these rational views we find also the
theory of the divine origin of kingship, which figures so prominently
in later political literature. The germ of this has been traced by
some scholars3 even in the Rigveda (IV. 42), in the hymn attributed
to the Puru king Trasadasyu, who exclaims, “I am Indra, I am
Varuna,” and rgain, “on me (the gods) bestow those principal
energies (that are) characteristic of the Asuras.” But this may be
explained as an expression of personal vanity rather than the formu¬
lation of a political theory. In the later Samhitas and the Brah-
manas, however, the divinity of the king is put forth as a general
doctrine. The king is declared to have gained identity with- Praja¬
pati by virtue of the Vajapeya and Rajasuya sacrifices-4 The ^ata-
patha Brdhmana (V. 3. 3. 12) definitely declares: “He the Rajanya
is the visible representative of Prajapati (the lord of creatures):
hence while being one, he rules over many.” The Taittirlya Brdh¬
mana (II. 2. 10- 1-2) tells the story how Indra, originally the most
inferior among the gods, was created their king by Praiapati. and re¬
ceived from him both the royal symbol and lustre. This is another
illustration of the application of secular ,ideas to the realm of gods.
But although the king is raised to the rank of God, the human origin
is not lost sight of, and he is never regarded as divine by virtue of
hereditary descent.6

Reference may be made in this connection to a short passage
in Satapatha Brdhmana (XI. 1. 6. 24): ‘Whenever there is drought,
then the stronger seizes the weaker, for the waters are the law.”
Although somewhat enigmatic and mystical, it seems to foreshadow
the later theory of the “state of nature” resulting in anarchy and
confusion, which led to the foundation of state and monarchv.6

The beginnings of these political speculations were evidently
inspired by the rapid increase, in number as well as in size, of the

430

POLITICAL AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS

Aryan kingdoms in India, and the consequent growth of the power
and majesty of the ruling chiefs who had mostly outgrown the stage
of tribal leaders and become territorial monarchs. As we have seen
above (p. 265-6) the Aryans had, during this period, spread over
nearly the whole of Northern India and established a large number
of states. If the Puranic traditions, recorded in Ch. XIV, have any
value, we must hold that there was a keen struggle for supremacy
among these states, and some of them at any rate occasionally be¬
came very powerful by annexing neighbouring kingdoms. But
even apart from Puranic traditions we have the evidence of the
Vedic texts testifying to the amalgamation of early Rigvedic tribes
into more powerful political units. The Purus and the Bharatas
became united under the name Kuru; the Turvasas and the'Krivis
became the Panchalas; and lastly there are clear hints about the
amalgamation of these two into a Kuru-Panchala group.

Besides, the descriptions of the Asvamedha and Rajasuya sacri¬
fices in the texts of this period show that ambitious kings strove
to be all-powerful by extending their sway over neighbouring king¬
doms, and seem to imply the existence of fairly large king¬
doms. Keith,7 however, is of the opinion that although some of the
tribal kingdoms of the Rigvedic days had probably grown in size
through amalgamation and expansion, there were no great king¬
doms even in this period and no empire as such- The fact that
kings are often, described in the Atharvaveda as fighting with their
cousins ( bhratyivyas ) or with their non- Aryan enemies, has been
taken to confirm this view. This is, however, hardly conclusive.
On the other hand the Aitareya Brahmana tells us that kings in the
east were called samrats (emperors?), those in the south bhojas,
those in the north virdts and those in the famous middle country
(eastern Punjab and western U.P.) merely rajans, and that' titles
like ekardt and sarvabhauma could be claimed by a king who had
conquered the kings in all the four directions. These specific re¬
ferences to imperialism, the flamboyant accounts of the imperial
grandeur of kings who performed the Asvamedha or the ceremony
of royal consecration, and the titles like “conquerors of the whole
earth” assumed by them on these occasions, indicate the existence
of large kingdoms and occasionally also of empires, even if we make
full allowance for obvious poetic exaggerations. There is a fairly
long list in the Aitareya Brahmana of kings who had received the
royal consecration at the Rajasuya, and in a general way the list
acrees with that in the Satapatha Brahmana of those who had per¬
formed the horse-sacrifice. The very multiplicity of these “im¬
perial” monarchs, each one of whom strides forth in the ceremony
as a conqueror in all the four directions, perhaps shov/s that the

431

THE VEDIC AGE

performance of the Rajasuya not unseldom represented royal aspira¬
tions rather *han actual conquests. Some of the details of the
Rajasuya ceremony are, however, worth noting as. embodying tire
religio-political theory of those days: The king is dressed in rich
royal frobes and is anointed formally by the priests. He then sets
his foot on a tiger’s skin which is symbolic of his having become as
powerful as the tiger. He next carries out a mimic cattle-raid,
takes up formally the bow and arrow and takes a step in each of the
four directions — a step symbolic of his conquest of that quarter. He
then plays, formally, a game of dice in which it is pre-arranged that
he commands the winning throw and becomes a victor.

As the Aatapatha (XII. 9. 3. 3) and Aitareya (VIII. 12. 17)
Brahmanas speak of a dasa-purusham rajyam (a kingdom of ten
generations) and as royal descent can be traced in several other
cases, the monarchy may be said to be normally hereditary. The
term rajaputra, which can be interpreted as “king’s son” in the
majority of its occurrences in the texts of this period, bears testi¬
mony to the same fact. Occasionally, however, a king was selected
by the people though the choice was probably restricted to the royal
family or at best to members of the noble clans. The election of
kings is clearly referred to in certain passages3 (AV, I. 9; III. 4;
IV. 22), but they are interpreted by Geldner3 as indicating the purely
formal approval of the king’s occupation of the throne by the sub¬
jects (vis) rather than a selection, in all seriousness, of the king by
the cantons (i>is). Nevertheless it is certain that in emergencies. ,
people had the power of selecting one member of the royal family
in preference to another who was incompetent (Ch. XVII, pp. 356-7)
But whatever we might think of the election of kings as a
means of popular control over them, there is no doubt that the peo¬
ple continued to play an important part in politics. Thus particular
stress is laid on the necessity of concord between the king and his
electors in a passage in the Atharvat'eda fill. 4) which, by the way.
s a clear testimony of the prevalence of the system’ of election of
the kings. Besides, it is held by some scholars that an essential
part of the coronation ceremony was a solemn oath taken by the
king to the effect that if he opposed the people, he might lose all
the merit he had accumulated in his life. 1 n But it is doubtful
whether the question here is of opposing Hit., oppressing^ the people
or the priest by whom the oath was administered. ■''*

There are hvmns in the Sariihitas and Brahmanas to celebrate

V t#

not only the coronation of kings but also the return of exiled kings.
This implies that the people had the power to punish kings, if an
emergency arose, by banishing them. Then in the Taliya Brahmana
(VI. 6. 5) a sacrifice is mentioned whereby the officiating Brahmana
could help the Vaisvas (the subjects) to destroy the king Royal

432

POLITICAL AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS

power was, it is true, gradually consolidating itself, but even a long
and unbroKen descent could not save a king from the wrath of his
suojects. Lor example, the Srinjayas expelled their king Dushfa-
rltu Paumsayana from the kingdom, in spite of his ten generations
of royal descent.

Ihe popular control in the affairs of states was exercised, as in
the Rigvedic period, through the two popular Assemblies, sabha and
samiti {ante, Ch. XVII, p. 356)- These are also referred to in the
later Samhitas and Brahmanas in terms which indicate an effective
exercise of authority not only in the general administration but also
over the person of the king. Thus we find a fervent prayer put in
the moutn of the king: “May the samiti and the sabhd , the two
daughters of Prajapati, concurrently aid me.’;" It is significant
to note that this passage describes the popular Assemblies as issues
of the same Prajapati, from whom the king, according to the theory
of his divinity, derives all his power and authority {ante, p. 430).
Thus both monarchy and the popular assemblies are placed on the
same footing as divine institutions according to Satapatha Brdh -
viuna. Other passages12 in the literature of this period also indi¬
cate that the king took particular care to be in the good grace of the
assemblies and the loss of their favour and support was regarded as
a dire calamity for him.

We have no detailed knowledge of the working of the Sabhd but
may glean a few particulars about it from isolated references. This
term also denoted the “assembly-hall” which was used for serious
political work as well as for dicing, social intercourse, debates, and
entertainment. When the assembly {sabhd) met, a sacrifice was
offered in the assembly-hall on behalf of the assembly, the fire used
being called Sabhya. The Maitr^dyani Sarhhitd (IV. 7. 4) tells us
that women did not attend the sabhd, which is but expected as wo¬
men did not take part in political activity. The same Samhita
mentions sabhd in the sense of the court house of the village-judge —
the Gramya-vadin — who is referred to in all the Samhitas of the
Ya jurveda. From the use of the terms sabhxisad and sabhachara
in the very probable senses of “assessor” and “member of the law-
court” respectively, it appears that the sabhd met more often for
the administration of justice than for political discussion. A sabhd -
pati, “lord of the assembly,” is mentioned in the Sathhitas of the
Yajurveda, and the Taittiriya Brahmaim (III. 7. 4. 6) speaks of a
sabha-pdla probably in the sense of “a guardian of an assembly-hall.”
The sabhd thus appears to be an active institution housed in a place
where legal rather than political business was more often transacted,
and which also served as the venue of social gatherings and games.
It is difficult to distinguish clearly between the functions of the
sabhd and the samiti from the available evidence. All that can be
said is that discussion and decision on policies of all kinds as well as

433

THE VEDIC AGE

legislation constituted the main business of the samiti, which was
a larger body, whereas judicial work, which could also be transacted
by the samiti, fell chiefly within the purview of the sabha, though
the latter had the right to discuss political matters also.

In spite of the popular assemblies, the king’s power was on the
increase. This was no doubt due to the growth of large territorial
states and the evolution of an official hierarchy in place of the old
nobility by birth. The king’s main function was the protection of
the state and the people, and it was recognized that this required
firmness and vigour on his part. In the absence of any authoritative
principles of international law, hostility, tacit or avowed, was the
normal relation between states, and the king had necessarily to be
a great war-lord, endowed with ample military resources. These
requisites of kingly office are reflected in a hymn of the Atharvaveda
(VI. 87-8) which addresses a new king as follows:

, “Here be you firm as a mountain and may you not come down.
Be you firm here like Indra; remain you here and hold the realm.

“Firm is the heaven, firm is the earth, firm is. the universe,
firm are the mountains, let the king of the people be firm.

“Vanquish you firmly, without falling, the enemies, and those
behaving like enemies crush you under your feet. All the quarters
unanimously honour you, and for firmness the assembly here creates
you.”13 .

This evolution of kingly power, out of sheer political necessity,
made further progress by the enunciation of his divinity. The
Satapatha Brdhmana , a strong exponent of this theory, upholds the
doctrine that by performing certain rites in the Rajasuya sacrifice
the king becomes not only exempt from punishment but also the
lord of the law.14 But these extreme theoretical assumptions were
hardly applicable to real life. The actual instances of expulsion of
the king, referred to above, belie these canonical statements. Be¬
sides, one fundamental principle which characterizes the political
thought of the Hindus is the conception of Dharma or Sacred Law
which sustains the universe and to which both the king and all
sections of the community owe allegiance. The sages, not the king,
had the power to interpret this law which was included in the Sacred
Canon, and it was the clearly recognized duty of the king to abide
by, and give effect to it. The moral and spiritual sanctions behind
this Sacred Law were a sufficiently powerful motive, more than we
can possibly imagine today, for restraining the wilful exercise of
authority by the king. The Brihadaranyaka TJpanishad, which
forms a part of the Satapatha Brahmana, clearly enunciates this
great principle, though it was more elaborated at a later age. In
assessing the true character — beneficent or otherwise — of kingly
rule in this age, we must take note of the high intellectual qualifica¬
tions of the kings. Though Kshatriyas, they were as well-versed

434

POLITICAL AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS

as, ix not more than, the Brahmanas in the Vedas and Upanishads.
they took great interest in philosophical discussions. They not
only patronized learning, but were themselves teachers and had even
Brahmana disciples, although it was not normal for a Brahmana to
learn from a Kshatriya. Such highly cultured kings must have
generally proved benevolent rulers. A memorable piece of advice
given to a king as recorded in the White Yajurveda (X. 27) is well
worth quoting here. The priest exhorts the king at the coronation
in these words: “As a ruler, from this day onwards, judge the
strong and the weak impartially and fairly. Strive unceasingly
to do good to the people and above all, protect the country from all
calamities.”' There is evidence to show that in this period, the posi¬
tion of the Kshatriyas in general and that of the king in particular
had gone up in relation to the Brahmanas, in the social scales of the
caste-system. A passage in the Aitareya Brahmana (VII. 29) des¬
cribes the relationship of each of the remaining three castes to the
Raj any a who is taken as the norm (See below, Ch. XXIII).

2. ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATION

Frequent references to a large body of royal officials indicate
the development of the administrative system during this period.
Among the officers thait form the entourage of a king at the royal
consecration, figure a Senarii, a Gramani, and a Bhagadugha (col¬
lector 'of taxes or distributor of food?). The Gramani — the head
of a village, corresponding to the modern village patel — is referred
to in the Taittiriya Brahmana as belonging to the Vaisya caste.
There were probably grades of Gramanis, according to the size of
the grama. He was the main channel of royal authority, being
entrusted with local administration; but his powers were probably
more civil than military.

In addition to the above three officials, lists of members of the
entourage at the Rajasuya, as given in the Taittiriya texts, include
several others who were not merely courtiers but also public func¬
tionaries. and this gives us a general idea of the various adminis¬
trative departments. There is above all the Purohita who was
something like an Archbishop and also a counsellor of the king.
Next comes the Suta. The Suta, which literally means a “Cha¬
rioteer,” raises a curious question. Was he merely the “coachman”
by appointment to His Majesty? This appears improbable from
the very important role the Suta plays as a herald or minstrel in
the propagation and popularization of heroic and epic poetry in
later times. It is not unlikely that, originally a charioteer, the
Suta was an employee to whom naturally fell the task of relieving
the boredom of the king or warrior, whom, he drove on long marches
and great distances, by entertaining and encouraging him with
stories and especially heroic legends. This fits in very well with the

435

THE VEDIC AGE

important part that charioteers are supposed to play, chiefly in
wars, but not rarely also in peace. They had a facile tongue and a
fund of stories and worldly wisdom. One need but remember the
vital part played by the charioteer in the Bhagavadgita-

After the Suta, we find mention of two other officials, viz., the
Samgrahitfi, the treasurer, and the Akshavapa, the Superintendent
of dicing- Whatever our views regarding gambling, we must re¬
member that dicing was (like racing today) a royal sport, and that
there must have been a department of dicing in those days. This
is confirmed by the symbolic ceremony of “dicing” as forming part
of the Rajasuya. This list is supplemented by the Satapatha Brah -
mana which includes the Kshattji (the Chamberlain?), Gonikartan§i
tGovikartana), the Huntsman, and Palagala, the Courier. The
Maitrayctyi Samhitd mentions the Takshan or “carpenter” and* the
Rathakara or “chariot-maker.”

Reference is also made to the Sthapati. He was either the
chief judge, as we shall have occasion to mention later, or the local
chief of a part of the kingdom, because we come across a Nishada-
Sthapati in the Sutras, who may have been the ruler of some frontier
aboriginal tribe.

The officers mentioned, above, with the exception of the last,
are called ratnins or “Jewels.” The name is derived from an im¬
portant rite of the Rajasuya ceremony, called Ratna-havis or Jewel-
offering, in course of which the king on successive days had to make
offerings to the gods in the houses of these officials.1- This fact
leaves no doubt of the high status and the great importance of these
royal functionaries. Yet the Brahmana texts emphasize the point
that some of them were inferior to both Brahmaiias and Kshatriyas,
and immediately after the Jewel-offering ceremony, the king had
to perform two rites for expiating the sin committed by putting
these unworthy persons of low classes or castes in contact with the
sacrifice (Sat. Br» V. 3. 2. 2). This curious procedure proves beyond
doubt that a new type of nobility, that of royal service, had emerged
by the side, if not in place, of the old nobility by birth.16 It is an
indirect testimony to the growth of a solid hierarchy of officials and
the efficient organization of the machinery of administration.

Isolated references give us some idea of the great power and
influence of this official nobility. Thus the Suta and the Gramani
are designated king-makers ( raja-krit j,17 while a list of eight per¬
sons, said to be Viras (chief supporters or defenders) of the king,
comprise, in addition to his queen, son, and brother, the Purohita,
the Suta, the Gramani, the Kshattri. and the Samgrahltri.16

The descriptions of the Rajasuya (royal cpnsecration) in the
later Samhitas and Brahmapas depict the king as the “Protector”
of the people in general and of the Brahmanas in particular. In
return for this protection the king is allowed to live on the (income .

436

POLITICAL AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS

of the) Vis (the subjects).19 For discharging this duty efficiently,
the king had to fight not only in defence of his realm but also to
conduct offensive war, which was generally undertaken in the
season of dew (i.e. at the end of the monsoon) and in which he had
to “sack cities.” He led the fighting host to battle in person, with
the Senani (army-leader) working under his direction, and had the
right to a share of the booty of war after a victory. The Purohita
ensured the king’s safety* and victory in battle by his prayers, spells,
and charms, and this is in keeping with the role of the Purohita in
peace as the regular adviser of the king.

For the maintenance of the machinery of administration which
protected the people in war and peace, the king had the right to re¬
ceive contributions and loyal service from his subjects. Though
in origin these may have been voluntary they soon assumed the form
of tribute (Bait), a kind of taxation that seems to have been meant
in the reference to “the share of village, horses and kine” in the
Atharvaveda (IV. 22. 2). The very frequent description, in the
texts of this age, of the king as the “devourer of the people,” is
perhaps not to be understood in the sense of a “fleecing of the peo¬
ple” by the king, but as indicating that the royal household and the
king’s retinue were maintained by the contributions of the people
in the form of food-grains and other necessaries of life (ante, Ch.
XVII, pp. 359-60).

The incidence of taxation, however, did not fall equit¬
ably upon all classes of people. As the members of the royal family,
the nobility and the Kshatriya class generally assisted the king in
war, it is but natural that this right of maintenance should also be
claimed by them. The Brahmanas also claimed to be exempt from
the normal exercise of royal authority, particularly in respect of
taxation. In the Rajasuya ceremony the priest tells the assembled
people: “This man is your king, Soma is the king of us Brah¬
manas.”20 This passage is then applied to justify the Brahmana’s
exemption from taxation. How far this exemption was carried in
actual practice it is difficult to say. But it appears that on the
whole, the main burden of the taxation fell on the “people,” who
pursued peaceful occupations, such as agriculture, cattle-keeping,
the arts, crafts, industries, and trade. The texts often describe the
“people” as forming the backbone of royal power.

3. LAW AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS

The Satapatha Brahmana (V. 4. 4. 7) tells us that the king
wields the rod of punishment (Danda), but is not subject to it. He
himself, as a rule, appears to have administered criminal justice.
That he was assisted by assessors is probable, though not certain.
At any rate, in his absence, he could delegate his jurisdiction to a
royal officer, because the Kathaka Samhitd (XXVII. 41 mentions

437

V.A.— 28

THE VEDIC AGE

the Rajanya as an overseer ( adhyaksha ) when a 6udra is punished.
Among tne crimes enumerated or otherwise recognized are, theft,
robbery, adultery, incest, abduction, the killing of an embryo, the
killing of a man, the slaying of a Brahmana (which alone amounts
to murder proper and is expiable by the performance of an Asva-
medha), drinking intoxicating liquor, and treachery, punishable by
death. Petty offences in the village seem to have been left to the
Gramyavadin or “village judge” for disposal. .The view21 that
there was increase of crime during this age because Rudra' is hailed
as the protector of thieves does not appear to be correct.

it is curious that even a minor bodily defect such as the posses¬
sion of bad nails, or the violation of a purely conventional practice
was looked upon as a crime. But we should remember that the
implicit belief in rebirth, and the fixed notion that for every defect
orx mishap in this life a person himself is responsible through actions
committed either in this life or in a past one, can explain a number
of anomalies in the judicial or social code of the Hindus. This is
often forgotten when the charge of an inhuman and brutal outlook
is preferred against their legal and social structure. That the sense
of justice was high is seen from the record of long discussions over
a case where a child is accidentally run over and killed by the king
and the Purohita driving in a chariot. The matter is referred for
arbitration to the Ikshvakus who gave the judgment that an expia¬
tion was due. Private vengeance was also permitted to serve the ends
of justice, though the crudities of such a procedure were held in con¬
siderable check by the system of Vairadeya “wergeld” — “the money
(in the form of a hundred cows, for example) to be paid for killing
a man as a compensation to his relatives.”

For evidence, eye-witnesses were more important than infor¬
mers- Ordeals were also probably looked upon as valid tests of
innocence or guilt. The Chhandogya Upanishad (VI. 16. 1-2), while
explaining how “Truth has the power of saving a man even from
death,” says: “When an alleged thief is brought handcuffed to the
place of trial he is asked to catch hold of a heated axe. If he has
not committed the theft, he covers himself with the glory of truth,
does not burn his fingers, and is set free as an innocent person,
but if he is guilty he is burnt on the spot.”

The punishments for crime were rather severe. If a thief was
caught red-handed, death or the cutting off of hands was the penalty;
in milder cases, binding to posts and the return of stolen goods
sufficed as punishment.

As regards civil law our knowledge is mainly confined to the
ownership of land, succession, and partition of property. Individual
property or individual ownership in land for the purposes of culti¬
vation is recognized. This individual tenure of land turned out to
be (in actual practice and fact, if not in legal theory) tenure by a

438

POLITICAL AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS

family, rather than by an individual. In this sense must be under¬
stood “the conquests of fields” so often referred to in the Samhitas.
Communal property in the sense of “ownership by a community” or
“communal cultivation” is, however, unknown. It is but natural
that a family should live together, with undivided shares in the land.
With settlement and peaceful occupation of the country, inheritance
of landed property must have been in force even earlier than the
age of the Sutras, which state them clearly for the first time. The
word “Daya” has already come to mean in this age “inheritance”
in the sense of “a father’s, property which is to be divided among his
sons either during his life or after his death.” In a legal sense,
the property of the family is the property of the head of the house,
usually the father. The Taittiriya Samhita (III. 1. 9. 4) has the
famous episode of Manu’s division of property among his sons.
Nabhanedishtha was excluded from the inheritance, but as a com¬
pensation was taught how to appease the Angirasas and secure
cows from them. An important aspect of this account is that the
property divided was movable property and not land, and that cattle
rather than land was the foundation of wealth, because cattle could
be and were used individually, whereas land could not be freely
disposed of. In the Aitareya Brahmana version of the story, the
sons are said to have made the division, leaving to Nabhanedishtha
only the care of their aged father. Does this suggest that the sons
were legally owners with their father? The evidence however
seems to be in favour of the rule of patria potestas, whereby the
father owned the property. The sons, when grown up, might claim
the property and induce the father to divide it, but this cannot
amount to the doctrine that every child on birth had a legal share
in the property. The legend of Sunahsepa points to the developed
patria protestas of the father. As regards the division, preference
was shown to the elder son if it took place after the death of the
father; during his lifetime, the preference was usually shown to the
elder son but not rarely to another ( Pahchavimsa Brahmana , XVT.
4. 4). Women were excluded from inheritance or partition. Neither
they nor the Sudras had any right to property. There is not much
information available regarding the legal relations of husband and
wife after marriage. The husband in all probability claimed the
wife’s dowry and earnings, if any. The Satapatha Brahmana (IV. 4-
2. 13) says that women own neither themselves nor an inheritance.

Original acquisition of chattels was brought about by taking
possession of them when found on one’s own land or on unoccupied
land, provided no one else claimed earlier ownership of them. They
could be transferred by gift and barter or sale. The only contracts
known . were those in regard to the business of money-lending.
The Dasas and Basis did most of the labour for which ordinary

439

THE VEDIC AGE

workers would have to be hired. The artisans and skilled workers
of the village received fixed remuneration from the yillagers and
not payment for each separate piece of work.

As regards civil procedure, voluntary arbitration appears to be
the earlier form of judicial procedure, in which the plaintiff (the
( prasnin ), the defendant ( abhi-prasnin ) and the arbitrator or judge
( prcisna-vivaka ) figured, as the three appear in the list of victims
at the Purushamedha in the V&jasaneyi Samhitd (XXX. 10). It is
uncertain whether assessors were called in. The jnatfi is very pro¬
bably a technical legal term for a witness in civil transactions. * Or¬
deals were but rarely used for deciding civil disputes, but their use
as an evidence in civil law is proved by the case of Vatsa who de¬
monstrated his purity of descent by walking through fire without
sustaining any injury. The oath, though not mentioned as an in¬
dependent instrument of evidence, must have formed part of the
ordeal declaration when there was an occasion for it.

Finally we may discuss the legal aspect of the question of the
ownership of the land vis-a-vis the king, as far as it is reflected in
the texts of this age. Land was originally acquired when it was
occupied by Aryan tribesmen among whom the apportionment must
have, taken place later. When the tribal chief assumed the status of
a king he controlled all transactions regarding land. When the
Satapatha Brahmana (VII. 1. 1. 8) tells us that the Kshatriya gives
a settlement to a man with the consent of the people, it implies that
separate holdings existed. The conception of the absolute royal
ownership of all land does not seem to have arisen during this age.
“Grants” of land only implied transfer of privileges regarding re¬
venue but no ownership. Similarly when the king granted to his
favourites his royal prerogatives over villages, the “grant” is to
be understood as the transfer of privileges in fiscal matters. That
a gift of land in the sense of “the conferring of ownership” was
looked upon as unconstitutional may be inferred from a story in the
Satapatha (XIII. 7. 1-15) and Aitareya (VIII. 21. 8) Brahmanas that
when king Visvakarman offered the earth (probably a piece of. land)
to his officiating priest, the earth refused to be given. Such gifts of
land probably constituted a- violation of customary law. The king
certainly had the power to expel a Brahmana or Vaisya (there is no
mention of -the Kshatriya) from his land, -but this power drew its
sanction not from his ownership of the land but from his sove¬
reignty, and was recognized only as a royal prerogative.

GENERAL REFERENCES

DR. U. GHOSHAL, A History of Hindu Political Theories (1923).

DR. BENI PRASAD, Theory of Government in Ancient India (1927).

1. Willoughby, Political Theories of the Ancient World , p. 14.

2. Op. cit., p. 15.

440

POLITICAL AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS

3. Ghosh al, op. cit., p. 27.

Sat. Br., V. 1. 3. 4.; 1. 4. 2.; 2. 1. 11.; 2.1.24.; 2. 2. 14-15; 2. 5. 3.; 3. 4. 23.;

4. 3. 27.; Toitt. Sam., 1. 8. 16.

5. Sat. Br. V. 3. 3. 12. Ghoshal, op. cit., p. 33.

6. Ghoshal, op. cit, pp. 41-2.

7. CHI , I, p. 130.

8. One of these is quoted in Ch. XX, p. 410.

9. Ved. Stud., 2, 303.

10. Beni Prasad, op. cit., p. 17. Jayaswal, Hindu Polity, II, 27-8.

10a. POC, VU1, 502. .

11. Sat. Br., IV. 1. 4. 1-6.; Cf. also AV, VH. 12, quoted in Ch. XX, pp. 411-12.

12. AV, VI. 88. 3.; VH. 12.

13. For other hymns of this nature cf. Ch. XX, p. 410.

14. Sat. Br., V. 4. 4. 7.; 3. S. 9. Ghoshal, op. cit, p. 40. Dr. Beni Prasad, however,
thinks that “the lordship of the law” here means the “lordship of justice**
(op. cit., p. 19).

15. The ceremony is described with slightly varying lists of officials in Sat . Br.,
V. 3. 1.; Taitt . Sam., I. 8. 9.; Taitt . Br., I. 7. 3.

16. Dr. Ghoshal thinks that the official nobility took the place of the old nobility
of birth (op. cit., p. 39).

17. Sat. Br., III. 4. 1. 7.; XIH. 2. 2. 18.

18. Pdiichavimia Br., XIX. 4.

19. Ait. Br., VIII. 12. 17.

20. Sat Br., V. 3. 12., 4. 2. 3.

21. CHI, I, p. 135.

441

CHAPTER XXII

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

1. THE ATHARVAVEDA

For our survey of the evolution of religion and philosophical
thought in the post-Rigvedic age we may begin with the Atharvaveda
as it has preserved an aspect of primitive religious ideas which are
not to be found in the other Vedic texts.

The oldest name of the AV in Vedic literature is Atharvdngi -
lasah, that is, “the Atharvans and the Angirasah.” The two words
denote two different species of magic formulae: atharvan is “holy
magic bringing happiness” and angiras is “hostile or black magic.”
The former includes among others formulae for the healing of
diseases, while the latter includes curses against enemies, rivals,
malicious magicians, etc. These two kinds of magic formulae then
form the chief contents of the AV,1 but these ancient magic songs
which were originally popular poetry appear in the Samhitd in a
Brahmanized form because of the priestly outlook of the compilers,
which betrays itself in the similes and epithets. The gods are
the same as in the RV, Agni, Indra, etc. But their characters have
become quite colourless, all being invoked as “demon-destroyers”,
and their natural basis is utterly forgotten. The theosophical and
cosmogonic speculations of the AV indicate a later stage of develop¬
ment than that in the RV. It contains more theosophic matter than
any other Sarhhita* The philosophical terminology is of an ad¬
vanced type, and the pantheistic thought is practically the same as
in the Upanishads. There is, of course, a magical twist given to the
philosophical hymns. For example, AV, IV. 19. 6 employs the con¬
ception of asat, “the non-existent,” as a spell to destroy enemies,
demons, magicians, etc.

Above all, the principal aim of the Atharvaveda is to appease
(the demons), to bless (friends), and to curse , and as such it did
not find much favour with the priesthood, who excluded it from the
sacred triad — the threefold lore. This was, however, a later deve¬
lopment. At their origin, magic and cult both have an identical
aim — the control of the transcendental world. They have this
essential unity of purpose. There soon comes a time, however,
when the priest who pays homage to the gods parts company with
the magician who is in league with the demons. It is a remarkable
fact, however, that in spite of this aversion to the Veda of magic,
the ritual texts which describe the great sacrifices do incorporate
exorcism-formulas and magic rites2 whereby the prest can destroy

442

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

“the enemy whom he hates and who hates him,” and the law-book
of Manu (XI. 33) sanctions the use of exorcism against enemies.

As Dr. Winternitz3 points out, “many of these magic songs,
like the magic rites pertaining to them, belong to a sphere of con¬
ceptions which, spread over the whole earth, ever recur with the
most surprising similarity in the most varying peoples of all coun¬
tries. Among the Indians . of Nqrth America, among the Negro
races of Africa, among Malays ' and Mongols, among the ancient
Greeks and Romans, knd frequently still among the peasantry of
the present-day Europe, we find again exactly the same views, the
same strange leaps of thought in the magic songs and magic rites, as
have come down to us in the Atkarvavedd of ancient India. There
are, then, numerous verses in the Atharvaveda , which, according
to their character and often also their contents, differ just as little
from the magic formulas of the American-Indian medicine-men and
Tartar Shamans as from the Merseburg magic maxims, which be¬
long to the sparse remains of the oldest German poetry.” The AV
then is unique among the texts of this age — the Sarhhitas and Brah-
manas — as an important source of information regarding popular
religious belief, not so far modified by priestly religion as to be
unrecognizable in its original form.

Occasionally, we come across hymns like IV. 16, which look
like a patchwork of old and new material. The first half of IV. 16
describes the power of the Almighty, the omniscience of God, in
language of such impressive beauty, that as a piece of literary art
it has hardly any equal in the whole of Vedic literature,4 and yet
the second part is an exorcism-formula against liars. This is a case
(not rare) in the AV where a fragment of older poetry breathing
genuine religious fervour has been dressed up as a magic formula.

There are hymns of a philosophical import in the AV though
they are inspired more by practical considerations than by a longing
for the Ultimate Reality. The hymns definitely presuppose a high
level of metaphysical thought. There is some exaggeration in the
opinion of Winternitz,5 that there is in these hymns more of the
mystery-mongering so characteristic of the magician than the search
for truth that distinguishes a philosopher, and that they do not
represent even a transitional stage between the creative thought of
the philosophical hymns of the RV and the philosophy 'of the Upa-
nishads. The idea of a supreme God like Prajapati, as the creator
and preserver of the Universe, and that of an impersonal creative
principle (which form the two chief doctrines of the Upanishads),
and some technical terms such as “brahman” “ tapas ” “asat” are
met with in the Atharvaveda . The conception of Rudra-Siva in the
AV certainly represents a transitional stage between the conception of
Rudra in the R.V and the systematic philosophy of Saivism in the
Svetasvatara TJparJshod. Original or otherwise, profound philoso-

THE VEDIC AGE

phical ideas do crop up now and then in the AV. Kdla or Time as
the First Cause of all existence (XIX. 53. 5, 6) is a truly philosophical
notion, but round it are woven metaphors that give a mystic turn
to the great idea (XIX. 53). Similarly Prana (Breath) and Kama
(Love), are described as First Causes in XI. 4 and IX. 2 respectively.
The Rohita hymns (XIII. 1-4) contain a sublime glorification of the
“Red One” (the genius of the sun) as a cosmogonic power. Along¬
side of this are found mystical fancies such as the exaltation of the
sun as a primeval principle under the guise of a Brahmacharin ,
and the glorification of the Ox, the Bull, the Cow, and the Vratya,
each being alternately looked upon as the Highest Being, in XI. 5;
IV. 11, IX. 4, X. 10 and XV respectively. AVy X. 2 is but an imita¬
tion of the philosophical hymn X. 121 of the RV and treats of the
realization of Brahman in man, from the physical aspect. AV , XI. 8
suggests the idea of Brahman as the First Cause of all existence and
of the oneness of man with the world-soul. Reference has already
been made above (p. 414) to the long hymn (XII. 1) to Mother Earth
which is acclaimed as one of the most beautiful productions of the
religious poetry of ancient India. Though classified as a cosmogonic
hymn, there is not much philosophy in it, but a relieving feature
is that it contains no trace of mysticism and thus rises to the
sublime heights of religious poetry.

■ It must be admitted that the Atharvaveda religion, being thus
more popular than priestly, formed a transitional stage to the idola¬
tries and superstitions of the ignorant masses, rather than to the
sublimated pantheism of the Upanishads and further that it led
to magic being confused with mysticism.

It is generally held that the religion of the AV is only an
amalgam of Aryan and non-Aryan ideals achieved after the advance
of the Aryans into India. According to this view6, the Vedic Aryans,
as they advanced into India, came across uncivilized tribes wor¬
shipping snakes, serpents, stocks, and stones, but instead of destroy¬
ing these barbarian neighbours or allowing themselves to be swamped
by them, the Aryans absorbed them. This spirit of accommoda¬
tion naturally elevated the religion of the primitive tribes but
degraded the Vedic religion by introducing into it sorcery and
witchcraft. In the opinion of the present writer, this view is not
wholly correct. Magic and religious cults, having an identical aim
in the beginning, namely, the control of the transcendental world,
have parted company in the AV exactly as they have done in the
religions of most peoples in the world, though there is no denying
that such a process of separation was considerably helped by the
Aryan contact with the natives of India, who had their own worship
of spirits and stars, trees and mountains, and other superstitions.

444

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

2. THE SAMAVEDA AND THE YAJURVEDA
SAMHITAS AND THE BRAHMAI^AS

With the Samaveda and Yajurveda we enter a new world, as it
were. The atmosphere is pervaded now by the smoke of the sacrifice
and the incense of the ritual. The sacrifice dominates everything.
These two Sarhhitas have been compiled strictly from the point of
view of their use at the sacrifice. They are, indeed, nothing more
than text-books — song-book and prayer-book — for the practical use
of two of the four principal priests, the Udgatri and Adhvaryu.
No account of the religion of this period can be understood in its
proper perspective unless we follow the broad lines along which the
institution of the sacrifice developed in this age.

The simple ceremonial of the domestic ritual which any indi¬
vidual, rich or poor, priest or layman, could perform in his own
home may be reasonably supposed to be the starting point of the
sacrificial cult. The single fire of the domestic hearth was the altar
at which burnt offerings were presented, to the accompaniment of
appropriate prayers. There were daily and periodical sacrifices,
such as the morning and evening offerings, the New and Full-moon
sacrifices and the four monthly or seasonal sacrifices. This domes¬
tic fire was also the blazing divine witness, propitiated by suitable
oblational offerings accompanied by appropriate prayers, to a num¬
ber of domestic ceremonies that endowed with religious sanctity
various events in the life of a family, such as birth, marriage, other
occasions of daily life, funeral, ancestor-worship, house-building,
cattle-feeding, and farming. The domestic fire was also the centre
of magic rites which were calculated to avert diseases and unpropi-
tious omens, as also the centre of exorcisms and rites for love-magic,
etc. A very large number of the songs and spells of the Atharva -
veda naturally fit in, most admirably, into the framework of these
domestic rites, as a substantial part of these partakes of the nature
of magic rites. In these, what may be called the domestic varieties
of the sacrificial culf, the householder himself generally officiated
as the sacrificial priest, but he might call in the “Brahman,” if he
needed assistance.

But even in the age of the Rigveda, as noted above fp. 380), the
cult of the Grand Sacrifices, especially the Soma-sacrifices, was gra¬
dually, developing 'by the side of the cult of the domestic rites, des¬
cribed above. They were, however, so elaborately developed and
systematized during the period under review that the Samaveda and
Yajurveda Samhit^s have been compiled solely for use at these
Grand Sacrifices. A regular science of sacrifice has now been evol¬
ved and forms the sole topic of the Brahmana texts. Three sacred
fires instead of one were necessary for these Grand Sacrifices, and
altars for these were erected on a vast sacrificial place set up accord-

445

THE VEDIC AGE

in g to rules and to the accompaniment of an elaborate ritual. A for¬
midable array of priests, divided into four groups headed by four
chief priests, was required for the correct performance of the ex¬
tremely complicated ritual and elaborate ceremonial which were
the sine qua non of the Grand Sacrifices. The Yajamdna (sacrificed
had practically nothing to do but to- give liberal fees to these
priests. These Grand Sacrifices were called “Srauta” or “based
on £ruti,” in the sense that the description of their theory and
practice was also embodied in the Sruti literature, i.e. the Saih-
•htfas and Brahmanas, whereas the .domestic ( Grihya ) sacrifices re¬
ferred to above were called Smarta (based on Smriti or “memory”)
in the sense, that they are described only in the Grihya-sutras which
fall into Smriti literature which has no divine sanction and is autho¬
ritative only in so far as it embodies the tradition derived from
ancient sages.

The titles and functions of the heads of the four groups of
priests are: (1) The Hotri or “Invoker” who was to praise the gods
and invoke them to the sacrifice and whose duty it was to form
the canon ( sastra ) for each particular rite of the Soma sacrifice by
selecting, from the hymns of the Rigveda, the verses applicable to
it and to recite them; (2) the Udgatri or “Chanter” who sings chants
(saman)f accompanying appropriately the various stages of the pre¬
paration and presentation of the sacrifices, especially the Soma sacri¬
fices; (3) the Adhvaryu or “Performer,” who executes all the sacri¬
ficial acts, muttering simultaneously the prose prayers and the sacri¬
ficial formulae ( yajus ); (4) the Brahman or “High Priest” who as
the general superintendent vigilantly guards against any error or
deviation from the correct performance of the sacrifice and pro¬
tects the sacrifice from danger by* repeating sacred formulae by
way of expiating for any error done. The Brahman has to be well
versed in all the Vedas, but the Hotri has to be conversant only
with the Iligveda , from which he takes the Yajyds (sacrificial verses)
and the anuvakyds (invitatory verses). Similarly the Udgatri has to
be well versed in the S^maveda Samhitd only, to master the melodies
and the song-verses with which they are connected, and to sing the
stotras , consisting of song-stanzas, i . e. stanzas or richah which arc
made to bear certain melodies or s^mans. Finally, the Adhvaryu
priest has to be proficient only in the Samhitas of Yajurveda as he
mutters the prose formulae and prayers called Yajus and the
verses ( richah ) collected in it for his use.

Like the two Samhitas mentioned above, the Brahmanas also
treat of the sacrificial liturgy. The age represented by them all is
an age of forms, concerned more with the externals* of religion
than its spirit. Mechanical sacerdotalism is the religion now.
Symbolic significance is attached to even the smallest minutiae of

446

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

ceremonies that are purely external (ante, j>. 423). Every prayer
that accompanies a rite asks for some worldly gain.

Nevertheless there is an interesting substratum of popular reli¬
gion, underlying this intricate and elaborate ritual of the sacrifice.
The Rajasuya or the ceremony of royal consecration must have had
once an appeal to the festive instincts of the people. The Vajapeya
is characterized by a chariot race which must have been originally
the main element and which must have always made a great hit with
the people. The ritual of the Mahavrata, which is probably a re¬
miniscence of a very popular primitive celebration of the winter
solstice, plays a notable part in the Gavamayana, the year-long
Sattra. The horse-sacrifice is fundamentally the elaboration of a
simple rite of sympathetic magic. Above all, however, the build¬
ing of the altar for the sacred fire is the one rite which, though a
simple one in ancient times, has been so worked over by the priests
that it reflects in a mystic sense almost a new conception of the
unity of the universe and the mode of its preservation The Brah-
manas record, as an ancient practice no longer current, the slaying
of a man during the building rite in order to secure the permanence
of the structure. The only plausible explanation of the dispropor¬
tionate importance and treatment claimed by this rite is the one
given by Eggeling7 that the building of the fire-altar symbolizes the
reconstruction of the Universe in the shape of Prajapati, the full
significance of which will be explained later.

There is no longer the spontaneity or simplicity of religious
feeling that is associated in a large measure with the sacrifice in the
age of the Rigveda . Although the theory of the sacrifice is super¬
ficially ‘T give thee (O Godl that thou mayest give/* there is so little
faith in it. that sympathetic magic dominates the entire sacrificial
system. The priest has arrogated to himself such powers in this re¬
gard. that he could ruin (if he pleased) even the patron for whom he
officiates by deliberately committing errors. The efficacy of the
ritual denended on the correct pronunciation of the mantras recited,
because it was their sound rather than their meaning that was credit¬
ed with power. The viniyoga or liturgical application of the RV
hymns to the details of the sacrifice had no relation to their meaning.
So ludicrously theoretical was the development of the sacrificial
cult that the list of sacrificial victims in the Yajurveda texts in¬
cludes human beings as well.

As the sacrifice is the only power that counts and could bend
even the gods to the will of the sacrificer, the old gods are not of
much consequence now. As a result some of the minor deities of
the Rigveda have either disappeared or exist in name only, Pra¬
japati (as “Lord of creatures”) is the main subject of theosophical
speculation in the Brahmanas, but he is not “a god of the people”
as Rudra is. This is indicated by the number of litanies addressed

447

THE VEDIC AGE

to the latter in the Yajurvedic Samhitas, and the attention devoted
to him in the Aitareya, Kaushitaki and Aatapatha Brahma^as. Ru-
dra as Bhutapati is a dread figure, who (we are told in Aitareya
Br.) usurped the dominion of Prajapatf over all cattle, when the
latter committed incest with his daughter. He appears at the
sacrifice in black raiment and claims the sacrificial victim. This
Rudra is (in all probability) not merely a development of the Rig-
vedic Rudra, but an adaptation of him by amalgamation with a
popular god, . an aboriginal god of vegetation, closely connected
with pastoral life. He is thus the “great god” ( mahadeva ) and has
already received the appellation “Siva” (the “Auspicious One’1)
which became later his chief name. Next to Rudra comes Vishpu,
constantly identified with the all-important sacrifice and therefore
rising to a high position. Probably he was prominent enough to
claim the undivided allegiance of some localities while fyidra was
worshipped in others. Narayaga and Vishnu are brought into rela¬
tion in the T aittiriya Ar any aka. In other respects, there is little
change in the Rigvedic pantheon. Gandharvas, Apsarases, Nagas,
etc., are raised to a semi-divine rank. Snake-worship (borrowed
probably from the aborigines) and the mechanical motif of the “De-
vasura” battles make their appearance now. Monotheism is being
advocated. “Brahman,” from meaning the “prayer-verses and for¬
mulae” in the Veda, containing secret magic power by which man
seeks to bend divine beings to his will, came next to mean the trayi
vidya or “a collection of these prayers and formulae in the three Ve¬
das”; then “the first created thing,” because the trayi was supposed
to be of divine origin and because the superhuman (nay super¬
divine) sacrifice was contained in and therefore derived from the
trayi; and finally (in this period) came to signify the* “creative
principle” — the cause of all existence. Such an evolution of mean¬
ing was possible because, in this age, the divine origin and authority
of the Vedas is accepted without question. In the Purushasukta
(RV, X. 90) the act of creation is treated as a sacrifice completely
offered (sarva-hut) from which the three Vedas arose. The £ata-
patha Brdhmana (XI. 5. 8. 1 if.) version of this doctrine is that the
Self-existent breathed out the Vedas. The so-called authors of the
Vedas are just inspired seers (Rishis) to whom the divine revelation
was communicated. Hie doctrine that sdbda or “articulate sound*
is eternal has thus an important correlation to the fact that the
Vedas were transmitted by word of mouth, from teacher to pupil
in unbroken succession through untold generations. The Vedic
tradition, considered sacred and infallible, must necessarily em¬
body the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. But
the early Vedic texts are not always consistent. This enabled
later the votaries of the most diverse doctrines to quote texts from
the Vedas in their support, and although philosophy became scholas-

448

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

tic as a result, one advantage was that a reliable basis— the unfail¬
ing intuition of the most ancient inspired seers — was available to
the Indian thinkers.

There are many creation-legends in the Brahmanas which are
a strange admixture of metaphysical thought with disconnected ex¬
planations of sacrificial rules. The majority of them generally begin
with the narration that Prajapati practised austerities through self-
torture and mortification as a preparation for the task of creation,
but there are passages in the Brahmanas where Prajapati himself is
looked upon as created and where the starting point, of creation is
either the primeval waters or Brahman or the Non-existent. Desire
is the germ of existence, the motive power of all creation.

That life is a duty and a responsibility is the central ethical
teaching of the Brahmanas. Man is born with certain rinas or debts
which he must discharge in his life. He has a debt to pay to the
gods, to the Rishis, to the manes, to men, and to the lower creatures.
And he discharges these debts, if he worships the gods, studies the
Veda, performs funeral ceremonies, is hospitable to guests, and offers
oblations to the bhiitas . Thus, there is no lack of high moral sense
and noble sentiments. Selflessness must characterize all our actions.
The Brahmanas have a remarkable sacrifice — the Sarvamedha —
wherein everything is to be sacrificed to attain the freedom of the
spirit. Prayer and good works constitute godliness, which is the first
requisite of a good life. Truthfulness in utterance and action is
the foundation of moral life. There are hints in the Brahmanas that
excessive ritualism was bringing on a reaction. For example, know¬
ledge rather than sacrificial gifts or asceticism is valued in the Sata-
patha Brahmana (X. 5. 4. 16), although asceticism is also held up as a
great ideal elsewhere ( Taittiriya Brahmana , III. 12. 3). The theory
that confession implying repentance somewhat mitigates the guilt is
seen in the Satapatha Brahmana. Inner purity was insisted on, as
much as external purity. Truth, performance of dharma (duty), res¬
pect for parents, love of fellow-beings, and abstinence from theft,
adultery, and murder were the sine qua non of a good life.

The description of heaven in the RV is only elaborated in the
other Samhitas and Brahmanas. The essentials are the same. The
Atharvaveda tells us how the dead man is conducted upwards by
the Maruts with gentle breezes fanning him until he recovers his
complete body and meets the Fathers who reside in the company of
Yama. The idea that the dead in heaven are nourished by the piety
of the relatives on earth is also found in the AV. Such nourishment
may either be buried with the dead, so that the grains of corn
and sesame, so buried, may turn into wish-cows in heaven, or
the nourishment may be conveyed through subsequent offerings.
This is indeed the germ of the later Sraddha idea. The Rigveda
conception of niryiti as a place of darkness in which the luminaries

449

THE VEDIC AGE

are lost has been developed by the Atharvaveda into a naraka-loka
(“hell”) which is the abode of female goblins and a place of utter
darkness. The . Satapatha, the Jaiminiya and Kaushltaki Brahma. -
was add their own touches to this horrid picture of hell. The two
paths — oile of the Devas and the other of the Pitris — are naturally
mentioned, as they have been already foreshadowed in the RV . The
theory of metempsychosis does not appear to have been very clearly
formulated in the Sarhhitas and Brahmanas, though the doctrine that
the agony of death is to be endured not once only but repeatedly as
one may die repeated deaths in the next world, prepares us for the
very important part that the theory plays in the Upanishads where
the conception of repeated deaths is merely transferred from the next
world to the present. The idea of reward and punishment, after death,
in exact correspondence to the good and bad deeds of a person in
this life, has gained a firm hold in this period. The attainment of
immortality and the company of the gods in the heaven — a highly
ennobled form of earthly life perpetuated in surroundings of bliss —
is the deeply cherished aim of, and incentive to, the practice of piety
and good works in this life.

This is a considerable advance over the view of the Rigveda.
There, immortality in the abodes of the blessed — the region of
milk and honey — is assured to knowledge and virtue, whereas not
much thought is given to the fate of the sinner who is apparently
condemned to the complete obliteration of his personal existence.
Now, however, the wicked are described as being born again in
the next world (along with the good) suffering the punishment
which their misdeeds bring upon them. That “man is the archi¬
tect of his own fate” becomes a perfect truth according to this
theory. And the supreme merit of philosophical thought in this
period is the development of the doctrine that reward and punish¬
ment are not eternal. This is but a logical development. How
could the limited good or evil that men can do in the brief span of
a single life on earth bring on endless pleasure or pain in the next
world? Hence follows the theory that penance and atonement
can purify and absolve the soul from guilt and exhaust the period
of suffering. The Brabmana doctrine, that whatever food a man
consumes in this world in return consumes him in the next world
( Saiapatha , XII. 9. 1. 1) is but the transfer from the physical to
the moral plant of the law that action and reaction are equal and
opposite. Siir’iarly, the enjoyment of the rewards, which is in
exact measure to the good deeds performed, must some time come
to an e*;d. Thus there is the prospect of rebirth again for both
the pious and the wicked. So arises the wonderful conception of
a beginningless and end^ss circuit of birth and death; the so-called
saihsara or “bondage of life and death,” culminating in that unique
conception of ultimate happiness which is much higher than that of

450

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

a life in heaven. It is a conception of freedom from samsara, which
is the true moksha '* (release) or absolution. First desire and then
its fulfilment is a vicious circle, and the only escape from it is desire-
lessness induced by> true knowledge. This, however, is the main
doctrine of the Upanishads and is only adumbrated in this period.
For example, when the Satapatha Br. asks the seeker for truth to
meditate upon the Self, made up of intelligence and endowed with
a body of spirit, a form of light, and an ethereal nature, the doctrine
has a speculative but none the less ritual background. Similarly,
the building of the fire-altar is (as mentioned above) symbolical of
the reconstruction of the Universe, in the shape of Prajapati. If we
now bear in mind the two sets of mystical equations: (1) Prajapati =
Agni — divine counter-part of the human sacrificer; and (2) Prajapati
= Time = Death (in the final analysis), we can understand that the
human sacrificer becomes Death (in a mystic sense) and thus raises
himself above death to everlasting bliss. In this process the true
nature oi Prajapati and of the sacrificer is revealed as Intelligence.
This same doctrine reappears in another form in the Upanishads as
we shall see later.

3. THE ARAI?YAKAS

The excessive ritualism of the Brahmanas produced a natural re¬
action. The Aranyaka texts are themselves virtually an admission
that the correct performance of a compulsory ritual, that had deve¬
loped to enormcus proportions in the Brahmana period, could not
be expected from all, young and old, from residents of villages and
towns as well as from those who resided in the forest. There were
again some parts of the sacrificial lore which were of an occult and
mystical nature and which could be imparted to the initiated only
in the privacy of the forest. The Aranyakas do not lay down rules
for. the performance of sacrifices, nor do they comment on the cere¬
monial in the Brahmana style. They are mainly devoted to an ex¬
position of the mysticism and symbolism of the sacrifice and priest¬
ly philosophy. Meditation, rather than performance, is the spirit
of their teaching, and they naturally substitute a simpler ceremo¬
nial for the complicated one of the Brahmanas. We cannot defi¬
nitely say whether the theory of the Asramas was deliberately for¬
mulated by Brahmanism with a view to accommodate the new doc¬
trines that were raising their heads against the older canon of the
Brahmanas and the philosophy of the sacrifice.8 But it must be ad¬
mitted that the Aranyakas or “Forest-texts” came in exceedingly
handy, as ideally suitable Vedic texts for the daily study of the
forest-hermits, as distinguished, on the one hand, from the student
and householder who could do justice to the cult of the Vedic sacri¬
fice set forth in the Brahmanas, and on the other, from the ascetic

451

THE VEDIC AGE

who could dedicate the rest of his life to the contemplation ox Brah¬
man — the Absolute expounded in the Upanishads.

Important service was rendered by the Aranyakas when they
stressed tl^e efficacy of the inner or mental sacrifice as distinguished
from the outer or formal sacrifice, consisting of oblations of rice,
barley or milk. They thus helped to bridge the gulf between the
“way of works” (karmarmrga) , which was the sole concern of the
Brahma^as, and the “way of knowledge” (jnana-mnrga) which the
Upanishads advocated. The Aranyakas further lay down Upd-
sanas (or courses of meditation) upon certain symbols and auste¬
rities for the realization of the Absolute, which by now had super¬
seded the “heaven” of the Brahmana works, as the highest goal of
the devout. These symbols form the link between the Brahmanas
and the Upanishads as they are borrowed from the sacrifices.
Finally the compromise between the two “ways” of karrnan and
jnana was consummated when karrnan was made subsidiary to, and
a preparatory stage for, jnana in the Aranyakas and Upanishads.

1. For specimens of these hymns cf. Ch. XX. pp. 411-15.

2. Cf. Samkhayana Gr. S.t I. 218.

3. H/L, I, p. 128.

4. For the English translation of the hymn cf. Ch. XX. pp. 413-14.

5. HIL , I, p. 150.

6. Cf. IP/ 1, pp. 118 ff.

7. SBE , XLUI, pp. xiv-xxiv.

8. Belvalkar and Hanade, HIP , II. p. 84. For further elucidation of this topic see
Ch. XXVI.

452

CHAPTER XXIII

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

1. SOCIAL CONDITIONS

1 . Family Life -

The very use oi‘ the term kula, which does not occur as an un¬
compounded word before the period of the Brahmaijas, suggests a
system of individual families, each consisting of several members,
under the headship of the father or eldest brother to whom belongs
the kula (originally “home or house of the family,” then by meto¬
nymy “the family” itself). As distinguished from gotra it seems to
mean the undivided family living under one roof.

The case of the sale of Sunahsepa in the Aitareya Brahmana
(VII. 12-18) suggests that the son was under the absolute cpntrol
of the father, but the story may only reflect the horror evoked by the
father’s heartless treatment of his son. The father as a rule did
not arrange the marriage of his son or daughter ( Jaiminiya Upani -
shad-Brdhmana, III. 12. 2). The relationship between father and son
was one of great affection. The kissing of a grown-up son on the head
on important occasions as a token of love is a custom found in
Sdiikhayana Aranyaka. Adoption was resorted to, not only in the
absence of natural children, but also to secure the addition of a spe¬
cially qualified member to the family, as in Visvamitra’s adoption
of Sunahsepa.

Certain special terms show that it was considered improper
tor younger brothers and sisters to marry before their elders. The
brother and his wife played the part of guardians of the sister in
the absence of the father. Quarrels between brothers are men¬
tioned. The family was sometimes large enough to include the
great-grandfather as well as the great-grandsons. Among relations
are mentioned the wife’s brother, the sister’s son, the cousin ( bhrd -
trivya ), the maternal uncle, etc.

An entire hymn in the Atharvaveda is devoted to the praise of
hospitality (IX. 6), and the Aitareya Aranyaka also lays stress on it
The guest-offering is an integral part of the daily ritual of the
household.

2. The Caste-System

The term varoa is used definitely in the sense of “caste,”
without reference to colour, in this age. The system of Caste, whose
beginnings may be traced in the broad fourfold classification of
society in the Rigvedic age (ante, pp. 387 ff.), developed during this
period in various directions. Many causes contributed to the rise

453

THE VEDIC AGE

of sub-castes and other caste-divisions. Guilds of workers tended to
crystallize into castes, as occupations became more or less heredi¬
tary; as examples we may cite the chariot-makers, the smiths, the
leather- workers, and the carpenters. The peculiar family consti¬
tution or the gotra tradition, whereby exogamy as well as endogamy
regulated marriage connections, and whereby a man should normally
marry a woman of equal birth, i.e. within his caste, but not of the
same gens or within the gotra , was another factor in the develop¬
ment of complications and distinctions in the Caste-System. The
original race-feeling or the contrast which the Ary a varna (Vedic
Aryans) felt between themselves and the Dasyu-varna (aborigines),
and which was sought to be mitigated by the incorporation of the
conquered population into the framework of Aryan society by ad¬
mitting them into the fourth class or caste, left its mark in the shape
of the rule of hypergamy, whereby an Aryan could marry a;Sudra
wife but the Sudra never an Aryan wife. The same rule was also
gradually applied in marriages between the three Aryan classes,
and while a Brahma^a would normally marry a Kshatriya or a
Vaisya girl, and the Kshatriya, a Vaisya girl, the male of a lower
class could not ordinarily marry a girl of a higher class. This
peculiar feeling as to mixed marriages is fundamental to all caste-
divisions, and may be looked upon as the third factor in caste-
elaboration during this age-

As has been noted in Chapter XIX (p. 400), it was the third
caste-group, that of the Vaisyas (called also vis or visya), which
by virtue of its occupations came into the closest touch with the
fourth caste-group, that of the Sudras. The latter was continually
receiving accretions from the conquered aboriginal population and
could not therefore keep up its cultural purity to the Aryan level.
There arose, therefore, the necessity of clearly distinguishing the
Aryan Vaisya from the £udra who was a doubtful Aryan. An
evidence of this precaution is seen in the variants of caste-names for
the last two groups, namely as Ary a and Sudra , found in some pas¬
sages in the Taittiriya, Kathaka , Vdjasaneyi, and Aiharvaveda Saiii-
hitds.

Along with their functions and duties, the privileges and status
of the four castes were being differentiated minutely in the religious
and social spheres. The Satapatha Brdhmana prescribes varjdng
sizes of funeral mounds for the four castes. The deities to whom
victims of the different castes are offered in the Purushamedha are
different. Different degrees of politeness are noticed in the modes
of address prescribed for the four castes.

The Sudra class was naturally the hardest hit in these invidious
distinctions, but the texts are not consistent in the position they
assign to it. If, for example, the Satapatha (III. 1. 1. 10) says that
a Sudra is not worthy of being addressed by a consecrated person,

454

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

the stories of Satyakama Jabala and Jana&uti in the Upanishads
show that the teaching of philosophy was not withheld from him.
The Sudra cannot milk the cow for the Agnihotra-milk according to
the Kaphaka Samhita (XXXI. 2), but the Satapatha Brahmana (V.
5. 4. 9) gives the Siidra a place in the Soma sacrifice, and the Taitti -
riya Brahmana prescribes formulae for establishing the sacrificial
fire for the rathukara also who was counted a Sudra. The Aitareya
Brahmana , hov/ever, lays down the most reactionary doctrine. It
describes the Sudra as yatha-kdma-vadhya (fit to be beaten with
impunity), who could be expelled at will and who is always the
servant of another. It is also declared that the Sudra has no rights
of property as against the rdjanya, especially the king. How far
these extreme views were actually followed in practice it is difficult
to say.

The Vaisya class. (Vis) was engaged in agriculture, pastoral
pursuits, industry, and trade, and paid tribute to the king and the
nobles, in return for the protection given to them. A late passage
(VII. 29. 3) in the Aitareya Brahmana gives rather a low estimate
of him with reference to the Kshatriya, when it says that “he is to
be lived on by another and to be oppressed at will.” Although
things might net have been really so bad as this, there is no doubt
that the position of the Vaisya was steadily deteriorating in this age.

The Kshatriya class was composed of the king’s relations, his
nobility, his retainers and other chiefs of petty states. They fought
for the protection of the country and maintained peace. They re¬
ceived revenue in kind from the people or masses (the Vaisyas
mainly) during war. For their normal or peace-time subsistence
some of them were probably granted villages, because the Gra-
manl seems to have been more often a nominee of the king rather
than a popularly elected officer, and probably the post was heredi¬
tary in Such cases. Others had their lands cultivated by tenants.
In war, they were helped by the people, who fought alongside
them.

While it is generally recognized that the Brahmana and the
Kshatriya have undoubted precedence over the Vaisya and £udra,
there is not the same unanimity in respect of the relative position
of the first two. ' The more common view is that the Brahmana is
superior to the king, as recorded in the Vajasaneyi Samhita ’ XXI.
21) and the Satapatha, Aitareya and Panchavimsa Brahmanas The
Brahmana is dependent on the king (Satapatha BrA ). 2- 3. 3} and
takes a lower seat by his side, but is superior to the king. A Kshat¬
riya can never get along without a Brahmana while a Brahmana can:
nay. the power of the Kshatriya is derived from the Brahmana
( Satapatha Br. IV. 1. 4. 6; XII. 7. 3. 12) On the other hand, the
Kathaka Samhiul i XXVIII. 5) says that the Kshatriya is superior
to the Brahmana. while the Aitareya Br. (VII. 29) rates the Brah-

4 55

THE VEDIC AGE

maoa rather low, describing him as a receiver (of gifts), a drinker
(of Soma) and as liable to be removed at will (by the king). Though
this is not the common view of this age it explains some facts very
satisfactorily; the fact, for example, that many kings were seers
of hymns and sacrificers, and some of them were even instructors
of Brahmanas in the Brahmanical lore.

Brahmaa^as are contrasted with the members of the three other
castes as the privileged eaters of the oblation. According to some
scholars the Brahmanas were divided into two classes — the Puro-
hitas of the kings, who guided their employers by their counsel, and
the ordinary village priests, who led quiet lives.2 In the view of
the present writer these were not separate classes as such. Any
one of the ordinary priests could come into contact with the king
when they were engaged in some great festival and could be selected
for the post of Purohita, if found pre-eminent and distinguished for
his learning. The post remained hereditary, only if the son was as
well qualified as the father. Imprecations against royal oppressors
of Brahmanas in the Atharvaveda and the statement therein that
kings that persecute the Brahmanas do not prosper, suggest on the
one hand that the persecution of Brahmanas was not unknown, and
on the other, the gradual consolidation of the prestige of the priest¬
hood. Even though a passage in the Aitareya Br. (VII. 2S. 4)
exalts the Raj any a above the Brahmana whom (it says) the former can
control, the references to the visah only, as the subjects of the king
{Ta.nd.ya Brahmana ), suggest that the Brahmana class received pre¬
ferential treatment and enjoyed certain privileges and exemptions
denied to the ether caste-groups. The greed and cunning of the
Brahmanas and many prerogatives claimed by them are reflected
in the Atharvaveda and other texts (ante, pp- 412, 422), but they
may not be a true picture of the class as a whole. There can be
hardly any doubt that many of them deserved the highest position
in society by their character and intellect.

The most glaring evil of the caste-system, namely the doctrine
of the impurity communicated by the touch or contact of lower castes
(known as “untouchability” today), had not yet reared its ugly head.
Restrictions on inter-dining are known, but not on the basis of caste.
Great importance is attached to purity of descent in the Samhitas
and Brahmanas. but there are instances of Brahmanas of impure
descent such as Kavasha, Vatsa. and Satyakama Jabala. On the
whole it is quite clear that caste had not yet become a rigid system,
and none of the three factors which definitely characterize it today,
viz., prohibition of inter-dining and inter-marriage, and determina¬
tion by hereditary descent, was yet established on a secure basis.

3. Marriage and the Position of Women

There are evidences that marriage did not normally take place
before puberty. As regards restrictions on marriage, it was banned

'56

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

within the circle of agnates and cognates, but the Satapatha Brah~
mana (I. 8. 3. 8) allows marriages within the third or fourth degree
on either side. Though marriage within the gotra was not explicitly
prohibited, marriage outside the goira must have been more fre¬
quent. Brothers and sisters were not to marry before their elders;
so the order of birth was generally respected. The re-marriage of
a widow was allowed, as seen from the Atharvaveda IX. 5, 27, 28.
Polygamy undoubtedly prevailed. The Maitrayani Samhitd men¬
tions the ten wives of Manu. The king has four wives, the mahishl
(the official or chief wife), the favourite one (vdvdtd), the parivfktl
or the neglected one (owing to the absence of a son?), and the
paid gall (daughter of a court official?). The instances of Kavasha
and Vatsa, as well as that of Janasruti in the Chhdndogya Upani -
shad, who offers his daughter in marriage to a Brahmana, indicate
that hypergamy was permitted during this period. The wife wedded
first must necessarily have claimed all the privileges of a wife in
the religious and social life of the couple, but the two wives of
Yajhavalkya were apparently on a footing of equality. The verses
from the Atharvaveda quoted above (p. 412) indicate the prevalence
of polyandry. Conjugal morality generally stood on a high level,
but the infidelity of the wife was certainly not unknown. The ritual
of the Varunapraghasa (in the Maitrayani Samhitd. and the Satapatha
and the Taittiriya Brdhmayas) , in which the wife of the sacrifice?
is questioned as regards her lovers, is evidently a rite to expiate un¬
chastity (even platonic or purely mental) on the part of the wife.
The son of a Kvmdrlpvtra (son of a maiden) is mentioned in the
Vdjasaneyi Samhitd which refers also to illicit unions of &udras and
Aryas, both male and female. But all these may be looked upon
rather as exceptions that prove the rule of a high standard of ordi¬
nary sexual morality. The metronymicS in the lists of teachers in
the Brihadaranyalca Upanishad may $e explained as the relic of an
ancient sociological feature rather than as evidence of recognized
immorality. After all the society is human, and while we should
not entertain highly exaggerated notions of unfailing chastity during
the age, disproportionate importance need not be attached to isolated
cases, or peculiar and exceptional customs and institutions.

The sale of a daughter was known*, but viewed with disfavour.
Dowries were generally given. The various types of .marriage de¬
tailed in the later law bocks had not been formulated as yet. The
story of Chvavsna in the Jaiminlya Brahmana is an instance of the
gift of a maiden for services rendered. The elements of the mar¬
riage ceremony described in the marriage-hymn of the Rigveda 'are
reproduced without much change in the corresponding Atharvaveda -
hymn, which adds only one important feature, which later became
essential, namely the bridegroom causing the bride to mount a
stone before grasping her hand. The poetic picture of an ideal

457

THE VEDIC AGE

family life in which the newly-wedded wife becomes the mistress
of her husband’s home, as depicted in the Rigveda, holds true for
the texts of this period also, and this ideal was possibly often realized.
The term patni regularly applied to the wife in the Brahmanas is
indicative of her equal share in the social and religious side of the
husband’s life, while the term jay a refers only to her conjugal posi¬
tion. Gradually, however, she lost this important position, as a
priest was more and more employed to offer the oblations in certain
ceremonies instead of the wife. This deterioration of her status
and dignity went so far as to result in woman being classed with
dice and wine, as one of the three chief evils ( Maitrdyani Samhita ,
III. 6. 3). On the whole, judging from references in the Taittiriya
(VI. 5. 8. 2) and the K&thaka Samhitas, it appears clearly that wo¬
man, who held a high position in the age of the Rigveda Samhita ,
had fallen on evil days in this age (ante, Ch. XX, p. 424).

It is true that sometimes high praise is showered on her in the
texts of this period. Thus it is said that she is half her husband and
completes him (Satapatha Br. V. 2. 1. 10). But in spite of this
praise she is not allowed to take part in political life, by attending
the assembly like men. According to the Aitareya Brahmana (III.
24. 7), a good woman is one who does not talk back. In the Sata -
patha , there is actually the rule that the wife should dine after her
husband. The relative position of the two sexes is reflected in the
keen desire for male progeny. This may be regarded as natural
in a patriarchal society where relationship was recognized through
the father. But this natural predilection exceeds all bounds of
propriety or morality when we read in the Aitareya Brahmana
(VII. 15) that a daughter is a source of misery and a son alone can
be the saviour of the family. The Atharvaveda (VI. 11, 3) also
deplores the birth of daughters.

The Atharvaveda (XVIII. 3. 1) merely refers to the ancient
practice of sat t (window-burning) and the Rigveda does not counte¬
nance it. So it appears that this custom was not very prevalent
during the Vedic age. The Vedic texts also tacitly admit the non¬
existence of the custom, by discussing the question of widow re¬
marriage, which is permitted by some texts and prohibited by
others.

4. Education

With the development and elaboration of the institution of the
sacrifice and the growth of a vast literature connected with it, the
problem of the preservation of this literature became very acute,
particularly because during the age under discussion the whole of
it (the Samhitds and Brahma,nas-, including the Aranyakas and Upa-
nishads appended to them) was looked upon as Sruti or revealed
literature. The Vedic literature must therefore have formed the

458

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

chief subject oi instruction and the vital part of education. Na¬
turally, then, the process of imparting the knowledge of the sacred
hymnology and sacrificial ritual must have become more and more
systematized during this age. Literary education was transmitted
only orally, i . e. by word of mouth from teacher to pupil. We ‘And
an echo of this system in the famous frog-hymn of the Rigveda ,
quoted above (ante, p. 349). The art of writing was very probably
known to the Vedic Indians,3 but that it played no part in the educa¬
tional system of ancient India is accepted by all.

The Atharvaveda (XI. 5) refers to a brahmachdrin (Vedic
student) gathering sacred fuel for fire-worship • and bringing alms
(begged from door to door) to the teacher. There are also prayers
in the AV for liturgical employment at the ceremony of Initiation
( Upanayana ). Svadhyaya or the daily portion or lesson of Vedic
study is referred to in the Samhitds of the Yajurveda . In the
thaka Samhitd, 4 rite for the benefit of one who, though not a Brah-
mana, has recited or studied the vidya, is mentioned, and the well-
known fact that Kshatriya kings like Janaka were not only keen
students of the Vedas, but also great philosophers renders it almost
certain that members of the Kshatriya and Vaisya castes received
the sacrament of the Upanayana and went through part (at least)
of the period of studentship, although normally the Kshatriya would
study the art of war. Vedic study, service to the teacher, and
chastity were the principal duties of a brahmachdrin. The fairly de¬
tailed description of the Upanayana as a sacrament ( saihskara ) in
the Satapatha Br. (XI. 3. 3. 1-7) includes all the essential features
of the same sacrament and life of studentship which are treated at
length in the Grihya-sutras, such as: (1) The formal acceptance of
the pupil by the teacher at the request of the former; (2) the entrust¬
ing of the pupil to the care of certain deities; (3) the vows and duties
to be discharged by the pupil while residing at the house of the
guru, such as: putting fuel on the fire, sipping water, and begging
alms; (4) the dress of the pupil consisting of the ajina, the girdle,
etc. The description of young Angirasa teaching his elders, in the
Tan^ya Br. (XIII. 3. 23-4), and the stories of Nabhanedishtha and
Bharadvaja in the Altar ey a and Taittiriya Brdhmanas, give us a
vivid picture of the educational system of those days, with its insist¬
ence on truthfulness, observance of duty ( dharma ), devotion to the
dcharya or guru (preceptor) and to one’s parents, hospitality, faith,
and generosity. The Taittiriya Ar any aka even anticipates some
minute directions of the type given in the Grihya-sutras, such as:
the pupil should not run while it is raining, nor urinate in water,
nor bathe naked, etc.

Women probably took part in the intellectual life of the society,
but we have no such definite reference in the later Samhitd and
Brahma* a texts as we get in the Upanishads. From the Taittiriya

459

TEE VEDIC AGE

Samhitd (VI. 1. 6. 5), the Maitrdyarii Samhitd (III. 7. 3) and the
Satapatha Br., we know that women were taught to dance and to
sing, which appear to be recognized feminine accomplishments.

Among subjects of study figured arithmetic, grammar, and pro¬
sody (Tdn^ya Br.). Language was obviously an important subject
of study, since Northerners are mentioned as experts in language
and grammar.

There was then no system of state education. The Brahmana
teachers taught students of the three higher castes at their houses,
giving them free board and lodging. In return, the pupils served
the teacher and gave him fees ( guru-dakshim) , That the educa¬
tion in this Home University was not merely literary, but also in¬
cluded physical and moral training, is seen from the hard daily
routine of the pupil and the code of moral conduct prescribed for
him, while residing with the teacher.

The existence of Vedic schools in this age, that is, even before
the establishment of SHtra-charanas, is clear evidence that even in
these early times, centres of Vedic learning presided over by a cele¬
brated Vedic teacher were scattered all over the country. The
Samaveda Sutras refer to Brahmana-charanas (schools) and as
many as fifteen charanas of the Vajasaneyins are known, including
the Kanva and Madhyamdina ones that have survived. The only
Sariihita-charanas known are those of the Bashkalas and &akalas for
the Rigveda Samhitd. The separate Samhita-and Brahmana-chara-
nas originated owing to a difference in the texts of the Samhitas and
Brahmanas respectively. Whatever we might think of Max Muller’s
theory of the origin of Samhita- and Brahmana-charanas, it is impor¬
tant to note that numerous Vedic schools existed all over the country.
The example of the assembly of the learned in the court of Janaka
shows that debates (philosophical and literary) were often held under
royal auspices.

5. Amusements and Entertainments

Music, both vocal and instrumental, and dancing continue to
be among the amusements of this age.4 The Samaveda is a stand¬
ing monument to the wonderful skill and originality of the ancients
in the science of vocal music. Several professional musicians are
known, and the variety of instrumental music in vogue can be in¬
ferred from the types of musicians enumerated, such as lute-players,
fiut e-players, conch-blowers, drummers, etc. Among the musical
instruments known are the aghdti (cymbal) to accompany dancing
(RV and AV), drums, flutes, and lutes of various types, and the
harp or lyre with a hundred strings (vdna). Many other instru¬
ments, of which we cannot form an exact idea, are also named.

The gailusha, included in the list of victims at the Purusha-
medha in the Vajasaneyi Samhitd , probably means an “actor” or

460

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

’dancer/' There is a theory that a precursor of the later classical
drama existed in this period, support being lent to this view by
the supposed reference to the Na^a-sutras in PaninL

How deeply racing (especially chariot-racing) had entered
into the popular scheme of entertainment is seen from its ritual
transformation into a ceremony ■ which, by sympathetic magic,
secures the success of the sacrificer. The essential pari of the
Vajapeya ceremony is a chariot-race, in which the sacrificer is
made victorious. Horse-racing was a favourite amusement. A
semi-circular course and prizes for such a race are mentioned in
the Atharvaveda. A formal race is also a feature of the Rajasuya
ritual. Dicing was another popular amusement. The number of
dice, the method of dice-playing, and the names of the throws are
all described in detail in the various texts of this period. A ritual
game of dice is played at the Agnyadheya and the Rajasuya cere¬
monies. So gambling is probably sought to be restricted by elevat¬
ing racing and dicing to the rank of religious ceremonies. It is
interesting to note that a vamsa-nartin, “pole-dancer” or “acrobat/’
is mentioned in the Yajurveda.

6. Food and Drink

Various eatables are mentioned in the texts of this period.
The apupa is a cake mixed with ghi (clarified .butter) or made of
rice or barley; odana is a mess, generally of grain cooked with milk.
Special varieties are those made with water, milk, curds or ghi ,
and beans, sesame or meat, and named appropriately, such as “ tilau -
dana ” etc. A porridge made of grain, barley or sesame unhusked,
slightly parched and kneaded, is called Karambha . Rice cooked
with milk and with beans is mentioned in the Satapatha Brdh -
mane and the Vdjasaneyi Samhitd. Fried grains of rice were
known. Barley-gruel ( yavdgd ) and decoctions of other grains are
also referred to.

Meat-eating seems to be fairly common, as in the Bigvedie
age. The £aiapatha _ Brdhmana prescribes the killing of a great
ox or goat in honour of a guest. Generally meat was eaten on
the occasion of some ceremony or other, but such ceremonies were
performed almost every day. Its use is forbidden during the ob¬
servance of a vow. It appears that the killing of cows gradually
came into disfavour. ''The normal meat-diet consisted of the flesh
of the sheep, the goht and the ox, the usual sacrificial victims.
What man ate, he offered to the gods.

Among the chief /products of milk may be mentioned clotted
curds ( amikshd ), sour- milk ( dadhi), fresh butter (nava-nita) , pa-
yasyd or curds consisting of a mixture of sour milk and hot or cold
fresh milk, butter, mixed with sour milk (pnshad-ajya) , phdnta,
creamy butter or the first clotted lumps produced by churning,

461

THE VEDIC AGE

and finally vdjina, a mixture of hot fresh milk with sour milk.
This formidable list of milk-products and their mixtures shows
the great popularity of milk as a drink.

Sura, an intoxicating spirituous liquor already known in the
Higvedic age, is often mentioned. Though tolerated as an ordinary
drink (the drink of the people in the sabhd ), it is often condemned
as leading to quarrels and as seducing men from the path of virtue
like dicing and meat-eating (A V, VI. 70. 1). The SautramanI sacri¬
fice is of the nature of an expiation or penance for an indulgence in
sura* The method of its preparation cannot be ascertained. Pro¬
bably it was prepared from fermented grains and plants. It was
kept in skins. The Yajurveda Samhitds mention a beverage called
mas am, which appears to have been a mixture of rice and syamakci
with grass and parched barley, etc. Madhu primarily means “sweet”
as an adjective, and so denotes any sweet food or drink such as the
Soma or milk. The sense “honey,” though known in the Rigveda,
is only now its most definite sense, and there are taboos against its
use by students and women under certain circumstances.

Already in the Brahmana period, the real Soma plant was diffi¬
cult to obtain, and so substitutes were being allowed. For exam¬
ple, the Panchavimsa Brahmana (IX. 5. 3) suggests that if putika, a
substitute for the Soma, cannot be procured, arjundni may be used
as a substitute for the Soma. In the Yajurveda , the plant is cere¬
moniously purchased before it is pressed. The plant was some¬
times subjected to the technical process of dpyayana (causing to
swell) by being steeped in water, thus increasing its yield of juice.
These few details, culled from the texts of our period, supplement
the almost exhaustive description of the preparation of the Soma
which can be gathered from the Rigveda (ante, p. 378).

7. Dress and Decoration

Urna-sutra (woollen thread) is repeatedly mentioned in the
later Samhitas and Brahmaxias, but iirnd denoted not merely sheep's
wool but probably goat's hair also. Clothes were generally woven
of sheep's wool. The fondness of the Vedic people for ornamental
or embroidered garments was as keen as in later periods. The
dress in this period seems to have consisted of three garments — an
under-garment (nivi), a garment proper (udsas), and an over-gar¬
ment (adhi-vasas) , like a mantle or cloak. The Satapatha Brahmana
describes the set of sacrificial garments as consisting of a silk under¬
garment ( tdrpya ), a garment of undyed wool, an over-garment and a
turban ( ushnisha ). The turban was worn by men as well as by
women, A royal head-gear or turban is worn at the Raj as uy a and
Vajapeya ceremonies by the king. The turban of the Vratya is re¬
ferred to. The “sandal” or “shoe” was made of boar-skin ( Satapatha
Br.). The combination of ddn^opdnaha (“staff and sandals”) is

462

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

mentioned in the Kaushltaki 3rd. hmana . Skins were used as
clothing. The frequent use of the variant terms for “warp” and
“woof” shows the great development of the art of weaving gar-
ments.

The pra-ghdta or closely woven ends of a cloth to which is
attached the trimming, fringe, or border of a garment (dasd) is
mentioned. The Sdnkhuyana Aranyaka (XL 4) refers to a garment
of (dyed with?) saffron. But uncoloured woollen garments are
also mentioned (Satapatha Br.). From the manner of wearing the
sacred thread outside, can be inferred the manner of wearing the
over-garment which probably passed over the left shoulder and
under the right arm. The Satapatha Brahmana (XL 5. 1. 1) has
an interesting legend to explain why man alone wears clothes. So
none but the ascetics could go naked.

The Taittirlya Brahmana mentions an article called Sthagara,
probably an ornament made of a fragrant substance. Salali, the
quill of the porcupine, is used now for parting the hair and anoint¬
ing the eyes. The Sahkha or conch-shell is used as an amulet (AW).
The late Shadvimsa Brahmana (V. 6) mentions the pearl (Vi-mukta).
A jewel (mani) strung on a thread was worn round the neck as
an amulet. • The prd-kasa, an ornament of metal or a metal mirror,
is often mentioned in the Brahmanas. The pra~varta in the Athar-
vaveda (XV. 2. 5, 9, etc.) probably means an ear-ring. A nishka
of silver (an ornament worn round the neck) as worn by the Vrat-

vas is mentioned in the Panchavimsa Brahmana,

«•>

8. Knowledge of Medicine

The inclusion of a physician in the list of victims at the Puru-
shamedha in the Vdjasaneyi Samhitd (XXX. 10) and Taittirlya Brah -
mava (HI. 4. 4. 1) shows that the profession of the physician had al¬
ready become well established. But whereas the profession was held
in high esteem in the Rigveda • — the Asvins being called “physi¬
cians” — a dislike for it seems to have developed in this age, because
in some Sarhhita and ’Brahmana texts of the Yajurveda , the Asvins
are looked down upon because as physicians they have to mix too
freely with men. From the Atharvaveda one can say that although
their treatment of diseases is somewhat primitive, consisting as it
does of the use of herbs in combination with spells and of water — re¬
medies Indo-European in character— their knowledge of pathology is
anything but elementary. The Atharvaveda enumerates quite a large
variety of diseases and the demons supposed to cause them. Takman
(a kind of fever) is the subject of five hymns of the Atharvaveda and
is also often mentioned elsewhere. But it is in the Atharvaveda that
its symptoms are described in detail (ante, p. 418). Consump¬
tion, scrofula, dysentery, boils, swellings, convulsions, ulcers, rheu¬
matism, headache, jaundice, cramps, eye-diseases, senility, fractures

463

THE VEDIC AGE

and wounds, bites of snakes and other harmful insects, poison in
general, lunacy, and leprosy are the diseases mentioned in the Athar -
vaveda . The use of sandbags to stop bleeding is interesting. The
practice of dissecting animals at the sacrifice was a great help to
the knowledge of anatomy which was developed to an appreciable
extent. Finally may be noted an interesting remark in the £dn-
khayana Brahman a (V. I) that “sickness is particularly prevalent
at the junction of the seasons”— a very accurate observation in¬
deed,

2. ECONOMIC CONDITION
1. Agriculture and Cattle

According to various texts, such as the Atharvaveda, Vdjasaneyi,
ftlaitrayani, Taittiriya, and Kaphaka Samhitas, and the Taittirlya
and the Satapatha Brahmanas, six, eight, twelve, and even twenty-
four oxen were used to drag the plough which must have been
large and heavy. The oxen were yoked and harnessed with traces
and guided by the goad of the ploughman. The furrow (sitd) is
often mentioned. The value of the natural manure of animals in
the field was very much appreciated (AV). Dung ( sakrit ) and dry
cow-dung ( karlsha ) are often mentioned. The plough is described
as having a smooth handle, well-lying and lance-pointed ( paviravat ).
There is a special name klndsa for the ploughman or cultivator of
the soil. The Atharvaveda gives the credit of introducing the art
of ploughing to PrithI Vainya, but ploughing is constantly refer¬
red to in the texts of this period as practised by the Vedic Aryans,
the Vratyas who were outside the pale of the Vedic religion being
described as not cultivating the soil. The Satapatha Br. enume¬
rates the various operations of agriculture, as “ploughing,, sowing,
reaping, and threshing.” The ripe grain was cut with a sickle.
From the Taittiriya Samhitd and other texts we gather that yav a
{meaning “barley” now) sown in winter was harvested in summer,
that rice sown in the rains ripened in autumn, and that beans and
sesamum planted at the time of the summer rains ripened in win¬
ter. Wheat was known and is distinguished from rice (vrihi) and
barley. Groats ( saktavah ) made of wheat-grain are mentioned.
Cultivation suffered from the usual pests — the moles that destroyed
the seed and the other creatures that harmed the tender shoots.
Evidently to prevent these and similar evils the cultivators used
charms at the time of both sowing seed and gathering corn (ante,
p. 416). Similar other spells in the Atharvaveda to avert drought
and excess of rains show that these inevitable mishaps threatened
agriculture then (as now) in spite of some sort of a system of irriga¬
tion that sought to minimize its evil effects.

Draft-oxen were generally castrated. Female draft-cattle also
were used. A four-year-old ox or cow ( turyavdh ) is mentioned in

464

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

the Taittirlya, Maitrayani , and Vajasaneyi Samhitds. The milch-
cow (dhenu) is contrasted with the bull, and there are special
terms for cows, oxen, and calves of different ages, for cows barren
or otherwise and in various stages of growth and motherhood, as
well as for a cow with a calf substituted for one of her own which
had died.

A fairly long hymn in the Atharvaveda shows the reverence
inspired by the cow, and the death penalty prescribed for cow-
killing outside the sacrificial enclosure tells the same tale. Pas¬
ture-lands were carefully looked after, and large sheds or stalls
were erected for accommodating cattle. On the whole, the cows
were taken extremely good care of. The origin of the sanctity of
the cow lay in the inestimable value of the cow for purposes other
than eating, and the occasional mythological identification of the
cow with the earth or Aditi helped the process which culminated
in the full-fledged deification of the cow in later times.

2. Trade and Commerce

Rich Vaisyas (sreshthins) , who had acquired wealth in trade
or agriculture, and who were probably the headmen of guilds, are
often referred to. That money-lending was a flourishing business
is indicated in various ways. Kusidin is a designation of the
usurer in the Satapatha Br>, and Kusida has the sense of a “loan”
in the Taittirlya Samkitd. The rate of interest is not specified.
No regular system of currency or coinage appears to have been
introduced yet, as no coins definitely belonging to this period have
been unearthed and no specific and undoubted reference to coins
occurs in the literature of the period. The mdna is a measure of
weight equivalent to the Krishnala (i.e. the berry of the gunja)
which was a unit of weight. The satamdna , a piece of gold equi¬
valent in weight to a hundred Kfishnalas, must have been in use
as currency among the merchants. The nishka also had become
by now a unit of value in addition to the old-time unit, the cow.
The profession of the merchant was often hereditary, as the term
vdnija (“son of a vanij”) in the sense of a merchant shows. The.
haggling of the market, already known in the Rigvedic age, had
now become such a pronounced feature of commerce that a whole
hymn of tho Atharvaveda (III. 15) aims at procuring success in
trade through clever bargaining. Garments, coverlets, and goat¬
skins are among the articles of commerce and market commodities
( AV ).

The sea was undoubtedly known and there was probably some
amount of sea-borne trade. In the texts of this period, samudra is
frequently used in the definite sense of the “sea.” The Aitareya
Brdhmana speaks of the “inexhaustible sea” < V . 16. 7) and “the
sea as encircling the earth.” The eastern and western oceans

465

THE VEDIC AGE

(.mentioned in the Satapatha Brahmana) are probably references
to the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea.

3. Occupations and Industries

The principal occupations and professions and the various
arts and crafts were distributed among, and assigned to, the vari¬
ous groups of people in accordance with the scheme of the caste-
system, which had by now taken root in Vedic society and was be¬
ing elaborated and complicated by the rise of mixed castes. For
example, agricultural and pastoral pursuits were mainly in the
hands of the Vaisyas. The professions of teaching and officiating
as priests at the sacrifices (Srauta or Grihya) were confined to the
Brahmanas. The fighting profession was mainly the monopoly of
the Raj any a or Kshatriya class. Service of all kinds — menial or
otherwise — fell to the lot of the fourth class — that of the Sudras.
This is but a rough distribution, and the division was not rigidly
adhered to, a member of one caste not rarely following the occu¬
pation of another.

Although hunting did not form the chief source of livelihood
of any particular class, it was practised for procuring sustenance
and for the protection of herds and flocks from wild beasts; and it
was also occasionally indulged in as a pastime and sport, chiefly
by members of the Rajanya class, as in the Rigvedic age {ante, p.
401). Among the victims at the Purusha-medha are found many
curious technical names of persons maintaining themselves on
hunting and fishing. Birds were caught in nets (jala) and the net
was fastened on pegs ( AV , X. 1. 30; VIII. 8. 5).

Fortunately a very comprehensive list of the professions, occu¬
pations, arts, crafts, and industries of this period is to be found in
the list of victims at the Purusha-medha as given in the Vajasaneyi
Samhitd (XXX) and the Taittiriya Brahmana (III. 4). The anu-
Kshattri, a special type of attendant on the doorkeeper or on the
charioteer, the anu-chara, an attendant in general, a drummer, a
worker in thorns cut up and used to plait mats, a smith, a plough¬
man, an astrologer, a cow-killer (or butcher?), a herdsman, a
maker of bow-strings, a carpenter, a gatherer of wood, a fire-wat¬
cher (dava-pa) , a hand-clapper, who presumably scared away birds
from the fields by making a noise, a female embroiderer or a bas¬
ket-maker, a jeweller, the yoker and unyoker of horses, the maker
of sura, an elephant-keeper and a worker in gold — all these figure
in the list of victims in the Purushamedha. In the other texts of
this age are mentioned a few additional callings, viz., a ferryman
or poleman, a washerman (mela-pa), a menial \purusha), a potter,
a usurer or money-lender, a blower, a barber, a boat-propeller, a
cook, a messenger, and a footman running by the side of a chariot.
To .this multiplicity of occupations must be added the arts and crafts

466

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

mentioned in Chapter XIX, as there was no appreciable break in
the economic life of the Vedic Aryans from the age of the Rigveda
Samhitd down to the age of the Brdhmanas , save that there was a
more extensive knowledge and use of different kinds of metals.

4. House-Building and Means of Transport

The “House” ( harmya ) was large enough to contain not only a
large family, but also pens for cattle and sheep, and evidently had
many rooms with a special place for the Garhapatya fire which
was kept continuously burning. The door with a fastener is often
mentioned. Houses apparently were generally built of wood as in
the Rigvedic period. The method of constructing them is not defi¬
nitely known. Probably four pillars were erected, propped up by
beams leaning against them at an angle. Ribs of bamboo-cane
{vaihsa), a ridge, and a net or thatched covering over the bamboo
ribs probably made up the roof- Grass in bundles was used to fill
in the walls which were finished with reed work. The dhana -
dhani (“treasure-house”) mentioned in the Taittiriya Aranyaka (X.
67) probably indicates a special type of room or house. The Athar-
vaveda mentions patnindm sadana or a part of the house called
women’s quarters. A seat with a pillow or cushion or coverlet, a
bed, and a couch are among the articles of furniture mentioned.

As regards means of transport, the draft wagon (anas) is dis¬
tinguished from the chariot (ratha) used for war and sport. The
axle-box of a conveyance is mentioned. Since the Atharvaveda
(XV. 2- 1) mentions vi-patha, a rough vehicle used for bad tracks,
it can be inferred that there were some well-made roads. The
wagon was drawn - by oxen generally, but riding of horses and
elephants was in use. Ships and boats plying on rivers and seas
were a popular mode of transport.

1 . For a detailed discussion on the relation between the Brahmanas and Kshatriyas
in this age, cf. Ghoshal, History of Hindu Political Theories , pp. 44-52.

2. Ved. Ind., II, p. 255; CHI, I. pp. 127-8.

3. Cf. the author’s paper “The spoken words in Sanskrit Literature” ( BDCRI , IV).
Cf. also Dr. S. K. Chatterjis view ( ante, p, 157). There is, however, a sharp
difference of opinion on the antiquity of the art of writing in ancient India
(ante, p. 395).

4. These three are referred to as the threefold Silpa in the Knushitaki Bran mane.

467

■ ■

■

BOOK SEVEN

THE AGE OF THE UPANISHADS AND SUTRAS

CHAPTER XXIV

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

I. THE UPANISHADS

THE word upanishad is derived from the root “upa-nirsad” which
means “to sit down near some one.” This no doubt refers to the
pupil’s sitting down near his teacher at the time of instruction.
The prefix “upa” may also be taken to connote the pupil’s “approa¬
ching” the teacher to request him to impart his doctrine. The word
in course of time gathered round it the sense of secret communication
or doctrine which was imparted at such sittings- Later on the
word also came to be applied to the texts which incorporated such
doctrines.

The number of treatises called Upanishads is quite large, but
some of them are not quite as old as the others. The oldest Upa¬
nishads are partly included in the .Aranyakas or the “forest texts”
and partly appended to them. As a branch of Vedic literature even
these texts are regarded as “breathed out” by Brahman and only
“visioned” by the Vedic seers. The Upanishads are usually called
Vedanta, or “the end of the Veda,” not only because they came at
the end of the Vedic period, or that they were taught at the end of
Vedic instruction, but also because the later philosophers found in
them the final aim of the Veda.1

As noted above (Ch. XX, p. 424), some of the Upanishadic texts
in fact form the component parts of the Brahmanas. These are the
Aitareya Upanishad , the Kaushitaki Upanishad, the Taittiriya Upa -
nishad , the Mahdnardyana Upanishad, the Brihaddranyaka Upqni -
shad , the Chhandogya Upanishad, and the Kena Upanishad . All
these Upanishads, with the exception of only the Mahdnardyana
Upanishad. belong to the earliest stage in the development of these
texts. They are very much akin to the prose of the Brahmanas and
are. certainly older th‘an Buddha and Pan ini.

The second category of the Upanishads represents a slightly
later stage, but even these are . pre-Buddhistic. They distinguish
themselves from the first category in their form which is mostly or
entirely metrical. Then, again, these texts have very often come
down to us as independent texts. To this category belong the
Katha , the Svetdsvatara , the Mahdnardyana, the isa, the Mundaka
and the Prasna Upanishads. Though these texts also expound the
Vedanta doctrine, they are not altogether free from Sarhkhya and
Yoga view-points.

The Maitrdyanxya Upanishad which is attributed to a school of
the Black Yajurveda and the Mandukya Upanishad of the Atharva-

471

THE VEDIC AGE

veda belong to the post-Buddhistic period. Their language, style,
and contents show a later origin, and the great philosopher
Sankara does not mention them. But due to their connection with
certain Vedic schools they may be styled, together with the twelve
mentioned above, as Vedic Upanishads.

The remaining Upanishads which have come down to us either
independently or in larger collections have very little connection with
the Veda. Some of them contain very little that may be called philo¬
sophical, and some are more akin to the Puranas and the Tantras
than to the Veda. According to their purpose and contents the non-
Vcdic Upanishads may be divided into six categories: (1) such as
present Vedanta doctrines, (2) those which teach Yoga, (3) those
extolling the ascetic life, (4) those which glorify Vishnu as the
highest deity, (5) those which give the same position to Siva, and
{.6) the Upanishads of the Saktas and other minor sects. Some of
these, like the Jdhdla Upanishad quoted by Sankara, the Parama-
hamsa Upanishad, the Subdla Upanishad quoted by Ramanuja, the
Garbha Upanishad , the Atharvasiras Upanishad already mentioned
in the Dharma-sutras as a sacred text, and the Vajrasuchika Upani¬
shad may perhaps belong to a greater antiquity than the rest. All
these Upanishads are generally called the Upanishads of the Athar-
vaveda, perhaps because it was easier to refer them to that Veda,
their connection with the other Vedas not being easily demonstrable,
and because the Atharvaveda itself was shrouded in comparative ob¬
scurity and mystery. The total number of the Upanishads is very
large, and one of the latest, the Muktikd Upanishad, enumerates
108 Upanishads classified according to the four Vedas.

The position of the Upanishads at the end of Vedic literature
should by no means be taken to indicate that the intelligentsia of
the period began to interest itself in philosophical speculations only
when they got wearied of their earlier ritualistic activities. The
Upanishads are in fact the legitimate development of that scepticism,
the earliest traces of which are found hven in the Rigvedic hymns-
Though these treatises mark the culmination of the earlier line of
investigation into the nature of the ultimate reality, yet, due to the
nature of their subject matter and the genuine spirit in which the
enquiry is carried on, they also constitute a beginning in this direc¬
tion. The spirit of their contents being anti-ritualistic.2 it may be
quite legitimate to suppose that the earlier philosophical activity
originated with those outside the pale of the priestly class.

It is also evident that the Kshatriyas took a leading part in this
new line of enquiry. They had now secured a firm footing in the
land by defeating the non- Aryans and. as noted above (Ch. XXI.
p. 434), obtained a high status and pre-eminent position in society
as ruling chiefs and high administrative officials. We can easily
guess how the intelligent Kshatriyas with their restless mentality

472 .

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

had grown jealous of the Brahmagas and attempted to gain a tactical
superiority over them by assigning a deeper significance and mean¬
ing to the very sacrificial rites which were elaborately developed
by them as the principal element in their religion. That the early
philosophical thoughts in the Vedic literature had their origin in
the intelligent interpretation which was sought to be put on what
might otherwise appear as meaningless Vedic ritual, is abundantly
clear* The various discussions between the Kshatriyas and the
Brahmanas recorded in the Upanishads leave no reasonable doubt
about it.

This supposition is completely borne out by the evidence we
gather from the Vedic literature. The references in the Brahmana
texts already inform us that the members of the warrior class had
betaken themselves to enquire into the true significance of sacrifice.
The story of king Janaka of Videha and the sage Yajnavalkya, which
appears in the eleventh book of the Satapatha Brahmana, is the
most instructive in this respect. It shows no doubt the superiority
of the* warrior-intellect over the priestly one, at least in some iso¬
lated instances, but it also proves that even then the warriors as a
class were regarded as intellectually inferior to the priestly class
(who had as it were appropriated the monopoly of thinking), and
as such were not always expected to interfere in intellectual matters.
But when we come to the Upanishads we find that the members
of the non- priestly class grew more and more inquisitive into
the true nature of the world. Thus in the Chhdndogya
Upanishad (IV. 1-3), Kaikva, a “Brahmana” not by caste but
by his knowledge, instructs king JanasrutL The same Upanishad
(IV. 4) shows Satyakama Jabala, of dubious descent, to be a worthy
recipient of knowledge as he does not swerve from the truth. The
king Pravahana instructs the Brahmana Gautama in the new doc¬
trine of transmigration ( Chhdndogya , V. 3, etc.). This story, toge¬
ther with the one in which king Aivapati Kaikeya instructs five
Brahmanas in the doctrine of Atman ( Chhdndogya , V. 11. ff.), shows
that these two doctrines which did not go well with Brahmanical
theology were first conceived among the warrior class.

The principal contents of the Upanishads, at any rate of the
more important among them, are philosophical speculations. The
philosophers of the Upanishads are actively interested in an earnest
enquiry into the ultimate truth that lies behind the world of crea¬
tion.3 They have variously expressed their findings in the identity
of Brahman — that highest principle which manifests itself in the
motley of creation and which receives all things back at the time
of dissolution — and Atman which is the individual self. This has
been pointedly recorded in the famous dictum of identity “Tat tvam
asi,” where “tat/* meaning “that,” stands for Brahman, and through

473

THE VEDIC AGE

it the universe, and “ tvam ” meaning “thou,” for Atman or the
individual self.

To quote the words of an Upanishadic sage on the point:

“This my Atman in my inmost heart is smaller than a grain
of rice, or a barley com, or a mustard seed, o t a millet grain.

This my Atman in my inmost heart is greater than the earth, greater
than the sky, greater than the heavens, greater than all spheres. In
him are all actions, all wishes, all smells, all tastes; he holds this All
enclosed within himself; he speaks not, he troubles about nothing; —
this my Atman in my inmost heart, is this Brahman. With him,
when I depart out of this life, shall I be united. For him to whom
this knowledge has come, for him, indeed, there exists no doubt. Thus
spake Sandilya, yea, Sandilya-”4

The famous story of Uddalaka Aruni and his son Svetaketu
shows us how in that period the learning of the Vedas, without learn¬
ing that doctrine “by which that which is unheard becomes heard,
unthought becomes thought, and unknown becomes known,” was
regarded as futile. This doctrine was expounded by- the father to
his son. We are told that originally only the Existent was here
without a Second. It then developed into the material world by
itself. With Atman it penetrated into all beings, and therefore
when a man dies he is united again with the Existent. As the
juices collected by the bees lose consciousness of their diversity,
similarly all the creatures when combined in the Existent lose
consciousness of the multiplicity of their forms in the universe; just
as from the invisible quintessence of the seed springs up the huge
fig-tree, so also from the minute ultimate reality proceeds the
diverse world; just as the salt dissolved in water cannot be seen and
yet its presence can be felt by taste, similarly the Existent, though
invisible, is present in the world and can be realized by the con¬
sciousness of “tat tvam osi-”5 The true nature of Atman is ex¬
plained in the Chhandogya Upanishad not as the Purusha in the eye
or in the reflected image, not as the spirit that roams in the dreams,
not even as the soul in the dreamless and profound sleep, but as the
immortal and intelligent spirit in man.6

The ethical doctrine of Karman, connected with the doctrine
of transmigration, is beautifully developed in the Brihaddranydka
Upanishad. With pointed examples the doctrine is thus set forth: —

“. . . Just as an embroidress undoes a small portion of a piece
of embroidery, and out of it creates a different, quite new and more
beautiful design, so man, when he has stripped off his body and has
rid himself of non-knowledge, creates for himself a different, quite
new and more beautiful form, that of the spirit of an ancestor or of
a Gandharva, of a Brahman or of a Prajapati, of a god or of a man,
or that of that some other being. ... As he has acted, as he has

474

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

lived; so he becomes; he who has done good, is born again as a good
one, he who has done evil, is bom again as an evil one* He be¬
comes good through good action, bad through bad action. There¬
fore it is said: 'Man here is formed entirely out of his desire, and
according to his desire is his resolve, and according to his resolve
he performs the action, and according to the performance of the
action is his destiny.’ ”7 The ethical basis of the Upanishadic
doctrine as expressed in the simile "As water does not stick to
the leaf of a lotus-flower, so evil action does not stick to him who
knows this (that the Self is Brahman)” ( Chhdndogya , IV. 14. 3) is
not to be construed to mean that knower was given all laxity.
The simile rather shows that the knower was regarded as inherently
incapable of evil actions.

The spirit of sincerity permeates throughout these philosophical
chapters in Indian literature. The knowers are as earnest in their
search after truth as the ignorant are anxious to know what is be¬
yond- Their eager quest is expressed in the Brihaddranyaka, I. 3.
28: "From the unreal lead me to the real. From darkness lead
me to light. From death lead me to immortality.” All distinctions
of caste, social status and earthly power are set aside when the
highest knowledge is to be sought. The story of Nachiketas who
prefers the knowledge of the ultimate reality to the pleasures of
long life, long progeny and immense wealth and power is the best
illustration to the point.8 Says he: —

"Ephemeral things! That which is a mortal's, O End-maker,
Even the vigour ( tejas ) of all the powers, they wear away.
Even a whole life is slight indeed.

— This, in truth, is the boon to be chosen by me . . .

This thing whereon they doubt, O Death:

What there is in the great passing on — tell us that!”

This earnest desire to know the truth above all is quite in keep¬
ing with what was regarded as the highest object of life in those
days, viz., seeking union with the Brahman. No work, however
good, could help in effecting this union. The only means to achieve
it was to realize the identity of the soul with the Brahman.9 This
growing indifference to the pleasures of the world and belittling
them when compared to the supreme joy to be experienced in the
unity with the Brahman, however, laid the foundation of the pro¬
found pessimism which pervades later Indian thought and literature.

The enormous power which these philosophical poems have
exercised over the minds of Indians for centuries together is not
so much due to the fact that they were regarded as divine revelation,
but because "... these old thinkers wrestle so earnestly for the
truth, because in their philosophical poems the eternally unsatisfied

475

THE VEDIC AGE

human yearning for knowledge has been expressed so fervently.”
The Upanishads do not contain “superhuman conceptions/’ • but
human, absolutely human attempts to come nearer to the truth — and
it is this which makes them so valuable to us. As to the influence
of the Upanishads on humanity at large we may do no better than
quote the view of a distinguished European scholar: —

“For the historian, however, who pursues the history of human
thought, the Upanishads have a yet far greater significance. From
the1 mystical doctrines of the Upanishads one current of thought
may be traced to the mysticism of the Persian Sufism, to the mystic-
theosophical logos-doctrine of the Neo-Platonics and the Alexan¬
drian Christians down to the teachings of the Christian mystics
Eckhart and Tauler, and finally to the philosophy of the great
German mystic of the nineteenth century, Schopenhauer.”10

2. THE SOTKAS

The word sutra, by which a special class of literature is desig¬
nated, originally means “a thread.” Secondarily it denotes that
type of literature which is made up of short sentences running
through a topic like a thread. A sutra has thus come to mean a
short rule, in as few words as possible, giving a clue to the learning
stored in a particular topic forming a part of a particular book.
Both by their form and object the Sutras form a class by themselves.
The system of oral instruction which formed the basis of education
in those days very probably necessitated this peculiar fashion of
summarizing the entire exposition to help its easy memorizing. It
is also not improbable that the intricacies of Vedic ritual, which
were to be scrupulously observed in every small detail, contributed
to a certain extent to the development of this form of literature.
If, therefore, a non-initiate finds here clarity sacrificed at the altar
of brevity, it is only natural. But the definition of a Sutra clearly
says that a Sutra should be brief in form but at the same time un¬
ambiguous in its meaning (svalp&ksharam = asandigdham . . .).

The class of literature which comes under this head does not
form part of the Vedic literature, but is in close association with it.
It is not the Veda, a divine revelation, but the Vedanga, “the limbs
of the Veda,” constituting works of human authorship. Though
these Vedangas include a number of exegetical sciences like &iksha
(phonetics), Kalpa (ritual), Vyakarana (grammar), Nirukta (ety¬
mology), Chhandas (metrics), and Jyotisha (astronomy), all of them
have not come down to us in the sutra style. These six Vedangas
refer to the six subjects that help the proper understanding, recita¬
tion, and the sacrificial use of the Vedas. Taken as a whole, there¬
fore, the Sutra form of literature is post-Vedic, as is also shown by
its language. In contents, however, they may be traced back to the
period of the Brahmagas which occasionally deal with etymology,

476

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

grammar , and astronomy alongside the ritual- Though some of
the exemplars of this literary activity are' later in date, the period
which typifies this aphoristic literature may be taken to be pre-
Buddhistic.

1. Sikshd

The traditional list enumerating the six Vedahgas assigns the
first place to Siksha or the science of phonetics. The word originally
means only “instruction,” and then specially such instruction
as is imparted for the correct pronunciation, accentuation,
etc., of the Vedic texts. These works are therefore closely
related to the Samhita texts, but in a way they are related
to the ritual also; for in the performance of a sacrifice the correct
recitation of the mantras has as much importance as the correct
order of the sacrificial acts themselves. The Taittiriya Upanishad
(I. 2) mentions this Vedanga for the first time, and the Sutra texts
belonging to it are at least as old as the Kalpa-sutras.

The oldest text-books dealing with this science are the Prati-
sakhyas11 which, as their name suggests, belonged to every Sdkhd
or recension of a Vedic Samhita. Thus we have at present a Rig-
veda Prdtisdkhya ascribed to Saunaka, perhaps a later revision in
verse form of an earlier Sutra text, a Taittinya Prdtisdkhya Sutra,
a Vdjasaneyi Prdtisdkhya Sutra ascribed to Katyayana, and an
Atharvaveda Prdtisdkhya Sutra, supposed to belong to the school
of the Saunakas. The Panchavidha Sutra shows the manner in
which the Samans are to be sung at the sacrifice, and the Pushpa-
sutra , a kind of Pratiiakhya, is meant for the Uttaragana of the
Sdmaveda . All these works instruct the students in the correct
pronunciation, accent, euphonic changes which the sounds undergo
in the composition of words, and such other topics as come under
Vedic phonetics.

These texts are the earliest specimens, if we exclude the occa¬
sional excursions of A,he Brahmana texts in this field, of the activities
of Indians in the science of linguistics- Moreover the rules with
which they have fixed the manner of the Samhita recitation have
helped in the accurate preservation of these texts even to the detail
of a syllable. We need not doubt that the Rigveda-Samhitd, as we
find it in our printed editions of today, is in any way different from
the one which Saunaka learnt centuries ago from his teacher.

Of later origin and of much less importance are some short
treatises on phonetics ascribed to such important persons as Bharad-
vaja, Vyasa, Vasishtha, and Yajnavalkya. The Vydsa-Sikshd, which
is directly connected with the Taittiriya PrdtiSdkhya , is compara¬
tively older than the other works of similar nature. The Paninlyw
sikshd may be old in its contents though its present form is rathe)
late.

477

THE VEDIC AGE

Clofcely related to the Vedanga literature, though not actually
forming part of it, are the Anukramagls or “lists” or “catalogues.”
To Saunaka are ascribed the catalogues of the Fligveda hymns as
well as of their Rishis, their metre, and their deities. The Sarvfc
nukramcnyi of Katyayana is a work in the Suua form giving for the
Ijtigveda the first words of every hymn, the number of verses, the
name and the family of the hymn’s Rishi, the deities, and the metre.
The Bjihaddevata , ascribed to Saunaka, gives in a metrical form
not only a catalogue of the gods worshipped in the different hymns
of the fjtigveda, but also myths and legends connected with these
deities* The work on account of its antiquity, is therefore import¬
ant from the point of view of the development of narrative litera¬
ture in India. The Rigvidhdna , again ascribed to Saunaka, gives
in a form similar to that of the Brihaddevatd the magic power that
one can obtain by reciting the hymns or the verses of the JF ligveda,

2. Kalpa

The oldest Sutra works are the Kalpa-sutras which deal with
the ritual and are thus directly connected with the Bratimanas and
the Aranyakas. According to the subject-matter dealt with they
are divided into two branches, the Srauta-sutras and the Grihya-
sutras. The former deal with the great rites taught in the Brah-
manas and involving the services of a number of priests, whereas
the latter teach the domestic sacrifices and other duties in the daily
life of a householder. The former are so called as they are based
on &ruti, but both the Grihya- and the Dharma-sutras- are called
Smarta, as they are based on Smriti (tradition).

The Srauta-s.utras teach the laying of the three sacred sacrificial
fires, the new and full moon sacrifices, the animal sacrifices and the
Soma- sacrifice with its manifold varieties. These texts are highly
valuable, not only for the understanding of the cult of the sacrifice,
but also for the study of the history of religion.

Tlie Gfihya -sutras on the other hand cover a comparatively
wider field, since they give instructions regarding the various cere¬
monies that are to be performed at the different stages in the life
of a person. The order of arrangement in a Grihya-sutra is deter¬
mined by its subject-matter which refers to the ideal life of a house¬
holder. Most of them begin with the marriage ceremony and then
go on to describe those that are connected with the birth of a child,
beginning with the ceremonies performed at the time of conception.
Hie various other ceremonies such as Annaprdsana (first taking of
rice), Ch<i4dkaravcL (tonsure), Upanayana (initiation), etc., are then
described in the order of their natural sequence, the funeral rites
naturally coming at the end. There are thus described a large
number of domestic customs and usages, and in this respect the
value of the Grihya-sutras to the student of ancient folk-lore can

478

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

never be over-estimated. These customs have their parallels in the
manners and customs of the other Indo-European peoples, a fact
which goes to prove that “the relationship of the Indo-European
peoples is not limited to language, but that these peoples, related
in language, have also preserved common features from prehistoric
times in their manners and customs.”12

The Gfihya-sutras also describe the five “great sacrifices,” i.e.
the daily sacrifices to the gods, demons, fathers, man and the Brah¬
man- The first three of these comprise the simple offerings of food
and a libation of water, whereas the “sacrifice to man” is nothing
but hospitality shown to a guest, and the “sacrifice to the Brahman”
constitutes the daily study of the Veda. Further, these texts also
deal with the customs and ceremonies connected with such occa¬
sional and seasonal functions as house-building, farming, gardening,
and digging of tanks and wells, as also the magical rites that are
designed to ward off evil omens (e.g., if a dove or owl sits on the
house or the bees make honey therein) or to cure the ailing of disease,
and love magic. Connected with the funeral rites are also the
ancestral sacrifices ( sraddhas ) which by their importance soon de¬
veloped into special texts known as the Sraddhakalpas . In spite
of the minor differences in detail the Grihya texts show a remark¬
able uniformity in the household ritual of the orthodox Aryans in
those days. With regard to the Grihya and grauta ceremonies Max
Muller observes that “ . . . though the latter (i.e. grauta) may seem
of greater importance to the Brahmanas, to us the former will be
more deeply interesting, as disclosing that deep-rooted tendency in
the heart of man to bring the chief events of human life in connection
with a higher power, and to give to our joys and sufferings a deeper
significance and a religious sanctification.”13

The third class of ^ text-books which are perhaps a continuation
of the Grihya-sutras are the Dharma-sutras dealing with the custo¬
mary law and practice. The difference (between the Dharma- and
Grihya-sutras) is that -“the weight in the Dharmas is laid on the
wider relation of man to the state, so that those sections Which deal
with the family become condensed and subordinate-”14 They enu¬
merate the duties of the castes and the stages in life (&£rama) in
great detail. We also find here the beginnings of the civil and cri¬
minal law. The important subjects covering the civil law are taxes,
inheritance and the position of women. Under the latter come
assaults, adultery, and thefts as the principal topics. It must be
noted that the rules of punishment are largely based upon caste-
considerations, so that for having committed the same offence, a
Brahmana may pass unscathed, but a gudra may even receive
capital punishment. The differences of opinion that are noticeable,
in the different texts are due, partly to differences in their age and

479

THE VEDIC AGE

locality of origin, and partly also to the various schools in which
these texts were studied.

The fourth allied group of the Sutras is that of the Sulva-sutras
which are directly attached to the Srauta-sutras. The word Sulva
means “a measuring string,” and these texts give minute rules re¬
garding the measurement and construction of the fire-altars and the
place of sacrifice. They may thus be regarded as the oldest books on
Indian geometry-

The Srauta- and the Gjihya-sutras are also of great value from
the point of view of the correct understanding of the Vedic passages.
These Sutras, besides giving instructions for the mechanics of the
ritual, also enjoin the use of certain Vedic mantras for recitation.
It is true that very often the mantras show little connection, except
perhaps the verbal, with the sacrificial acts which they are to accom¬
pany; but sometimes they do supply a clue to the correct explana¬
tion of a prescribed text. Such mantras are included either in full
or in part in the body of the Sutra texts and thus exhibit their con¬
nection with certain Vedic schools; for the Sutras belonging to a
particular Samhita would quote passages from that particu¬
lar Samhita only with some initial words, but with the full text
of the mantras taken from other Samhitas. The Gobhila Gfihya -
siitra, however, eschews all such mantras and puts them in a special
prayer-book called the Mantrabrahmana, and the Apastambdya
Gjihya-sutra does the same in the Mantrapatha.

Of all the different Vedic schools only the Baudhayana and the
Apastamba schools, belonging to the Black Yajurveda, give under
the general title of Kalpa-sutra all the four types of Sutra texts
mentioned above. The uniformity which runs through them makes
it quite probable that Baudhayana15 and Apastamba were themselves
actual authors of these two Kalpa-sutras. The schools of Bharad-
v&ja which give us the Srauta and the Grihya-sutras and those of
Satyashadha Hiranyakesin which give us the Srauta-, Grihya- and
the Dharma-sutras are both in close relation with the school of
Apastamba. To the Maitrdyatfi-Samhitd belong the Srauta-, Grihya-
and the Sulva-sutras of the Manava school and also the Kdthaka
Grihya-sutra •

Of the other Vedic schools we do not get, at any rate at present,
a Kalpa-sutra comprising all the four types of Sutras referred to
above.16 Whether they existed at one time or not is a moot point.
Thus to the White Yajurveda belong a Kdtydyana Srauta-sutra, a
Pdraskara Grihya-sdtra and a Kdtydyana Sulva-sutra. The AAvald-
yana and Sdhkhdyana Srauta- and Grihya-sutras belong to the
Rigveda . With the Sdmaveda are connected the Ldfydyana and
Drdhydyana Srauta-sutras and a Srauta- and Grihya-sutra of the
Jahnlntya school. The Grihya-sutras of Gobhila and Khadira also
belong to the same Veda. The Atharvaveda gives a Vai tana Srauta-

480

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

siitra and Kausika-sutra. The former is of a very late date and is
tacked on to the Atharvaveda in order to bring it in line with the
other Vedas. 1 '* The latter, however, is much older in date and in
character is only partly a Grihya-sutra, for it deals with magical
rites also.

The Sraddhakalpas and Pitfimedhas dealing with the ancestral
sacrifices have been already referred to above. Some of these texts,
however, are quite late productions. The important texts belonging to
this category are the Manava-srdddhakalpa and those belonging to
Saunaka, Paippalada, Katyayana, and Gautama. Of the Pitrime-
dha-sutras we have those of Baudhayana, Hiranyakesin, and Gau¬
tama.

To the post-Vedic ritual literature belong the Parisishtas or
“addenda” which elaborate in greater detail some of the rites that
are briefly mentioned in the texts to which they are appended. Of
these, the Grihyasamgraha-Parisishta and the Karmapradipa at¬
tached to the Gobhila Grihya-sutra are more important. The Pari-
sishtas belonging to the Atharvaveda are equally important since
they throw valuable light on such subjects as the magical practices,
omens, and portents. The Prayaschittasutra which deals with the
expiatory rites is one of the oldest Parisishfas.

Still later are the Prayogas, Paddhatis, and the Karikas dealing
very elaborately with some special rites such as the marriage cus¬
toms, burial of the dead, and sacrifices to the manes, but they do not
belong to this period-

It is difficult to assign any precise date to the Kalpa-sutra texts.
The dates of the principal Srauta-sutras ('viz., those of Apastamba,
Asvalayana, Baudhayana, Katyayana, Sankhayana, Latyayana,
Drahyavana and Satyashatfha) and some of the Grihya-sutras ( Asva¬
layana, Apastamba, etc.), have been fixed between 800 and 400 B.C.
The Dharma-sutras of Gautama, Baudhayana, Vasishtha and Apas¬
tamba have been placed by eminent scholars like Biihler and Jolly
between the sixth and fourth (or third) centuries B.C., though
others assign a somewhat later date. But although none of the
extant Dharma-sutras is older than 600 B.C., there is no doubt that
there were works of this class belonging to an earlier period- For
not only the oidest text, viz., Gautama Dharma-sutra, probably be¬
longing to sixth century B.C., refers, both directly and indirectly,
to other works of this class, but even Yaska’s Nirukta seems to allude
to them. On the whole the Kalpa-sutras may be roughly placed
between the eighth and third centuries B.C.18

3. Vydkarava

The only representative that has come down to us of this Ve-
dahga is the Ashtadhydyl of Panini, which belongs to a later period.

481

THE VEDIC AGE

The Vedic grammar in this work receives only a sectional treatment
at the hands of Panini, his principal object being the description of
the “blidsha,” the ordinary language of the people, and not the sacred
language of the “seers.” The earlier exegetical works in this field
are lost to us. The Uyadisutras teaching the formation of nouns from
roots, and the Phitsutras dealing with accent, are the representatives
of the earlier treatises in the field of grammar before Panini. The
greater number of words explained by the Unadisutras are Vedic,
and Professor Max Muller observes that “ . . . originally the Unadi-
siitras were intended for the Veda only, and that they were after¬
wards enlarged by adding rules on the formation of non- Vedic
words.”19

4. Nirukta

Of this Vedanga connected with etymology we have the sole
representative in Yaska’s Nirukta. It appears that some centuries
after the composition of the Samhitas, these texts began to be un¬
intelligible, and to facilitate their understanding it was deemed neces¬
sary to have lists of rare and obscure words. These lists were styled
the Nighantus. and Yaska’s treatise is a commentary on such lists,
prepared not by himself but by his predecessors. Yaska certainly
had forerunners in this field who commented on such lists, but none
of their works has come down to us.

5. Chhanclas

The literature comprising this Vedanga on metrics is equally
meagre- The Nidanasiitra in ten Prapathakas belongs to the Sama-
veda and deals with metre as also with the component parts of the
Samavcda. It has been ascribed to Patanjali by some ancient tea¬
chers. Pingala’s work on metrics is regarded by the indigenous
tradition as a Vedanga of the Rigveda and Yajurveda. But it is a
late work belonging to the early post-Vedic period since it deals with
the Vedic as well as non-Vedic metres.

6. Jyotisha

There is no work available at present dealing with ancient astro¬
nomy in the sutra style. The JyoUsha-Vedanga is a later work of a
practical utility. It gives some rules for calculating and fixing the
days and hours for the different sacrifices- It is really unfortunate
that the earlier works of this Vedanga as also of others should have
been lost to us. Some of the astronomical theories and mathematical
calculations worked out by the Vedic Aryans are really startling,
considering the age and surroundings in which they originated. But
at present the only source is the Vedic Samhitas and the Brahmanas,
particularly of the Yajurveda. from which we may derive our know¬
ledge of these.

482

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

3. THE LANGUAGE

1. The Upanishads

The language of the Upanishads is more akin to the Classical
than to the Vedic Sanskrit. The following traces of the older usage
are, however, noticed now and then: (a) Nom. Plural in “asas” of
nouns ending in V; “Jandsab” ( Katha , 1.1.19); (b) Nom. Plural
in “d” of neuter nouns ending in “a”: “tri cha satd tri cha sahasrd^
(Brih III. 9. 1); (c) Instru. Sung, in “d” of Fern, nouns ending in “d”;
“deshd” ( Chhdnd . VI. 13. 1); “manishd” (Kafka, II. 6. 9; Sue. III. 13);
(d) Nom. Plural in “Is” of Fern, nouns ending in “I”; “mdnu-
shih” (Taitt. III. 10. 2); (e) Loc. Sing, without termination of
nouns ending in “an”; “akshan” ( Bjih . II. 2. 2); “Atman”
( Brih . II. 3. 6; Katha , II. 4. 1); “ vyoman ” (Taitt. U. 1); (/) the
older form of the pronoun “tat” namely “tyat” (Brih. II. 3. 1).

A peculiar practice of employing the Dative in place of Gen.-
Abla. of some Fem. nouns ending in “d” or “x,” as also of the
pronouns “tat” “etat” and “yat” is noticed in the Upanishads: Thus
we get “teshdm saihkfiptyai ” (= Abla.) “varsham saihkalpate"

( Chhdnd . VII. 4- 2); “ bhutyai na pramaditavyam ” (Taitt I. 11. 1);
“etasyai devatdyai sdyujyam jayati” (Brih, L 5. 23); “jdydyai kdmdya
jdyd priyd bhavati” (Brih. II. 4. 5); “vlndyai tu grahanena sabdo gri-
hxto bhavati” (Brih. IV. 5. 10); “tasyai vdchah pfithivi sariram”
(Brih. I. 5- 11); “Asyai vidyutah sarvdni bhdtdni madhu” (Brih. II.
5. 8); “yasya priyo bubhushed y asyai vd” ( Kaushi , II. 4).

In the case of the Verb, older Moods like the Subjunctive and
the Injunctive have almost fallen into disuse. They are met with
only as exceptions in, the older Upanishads, Le- the Brih . and the
Chhdnd. Thus we get “asat” (Brih. V. 5. 1); “ichchhdsai” (Brih. VI.
1.10); “ prdpam ” (Brih. V. 14.7) and “upa sidathdh” (Chhdnd. VI. 13.

1) . Imperative forms in “tdt” standing for the third person sing,
are found twice in Brih*: “ay am tyasya raja murdhdnam vip^tayatdt ”
(Brih. I. 3. 24) and “abhayam tvd gachchhatdd Y&jnavalkya” ( Brih *
IV. 2. 4). The Atmane and the Parasmai Padas are not yet definitely
restricted to certain roots as in the Classical language and so we
get forms like “adhyeti” “ adhyeshi ” (Chhdnd. V. 11 2.* 6); “adhihi”
(Chhdnd. VII. 1. 1); “manx&ni” (Chhdnd. VIII. 12. 5); “aikshat”
(Katha. II. 4. 1). Irregular present forms like “bhunjdmdll,,
( Chhdnd . IV. 12.2); “kjiwate” (Sue. II. 7); perfect forms like “pas-
parsuh ” (Kena. 27); passive forms like “vyasiryat” (Chhdnd. V. 15*

2) and “parimuchyanti” (Mw4- III. 2. 6) are also occasionally
met with. As in earlier Vedic Sarhhitas, prepositions are sometimes
separated from their verbs: “ paiid asya bhrdtrivyo bhavati” (Brih.
I. 3. 7); “ud asmdt prdvdb kKWnanti” (Brih. II. 1. 11); “anu md sqdhi”

483

(

THE VEDIC AGE

IV- 2. 1); “a cha gachchheyuh upa cha nameyuh” ( Chhdnd . II.

1. 4).

Sandhi has become pretty regular so far as prose passages are
concerned. A lew irregularities of the Sandhi are found in the me-
trical portions.

The Upanishadic language is characterized by a few features
whose presence is due to the need of conveying dry philosophical
ideas with ease and clarity. Some of these are: (1) Abundant use
of simple homely similes and metaphors; (2) repetition of an idea
almost in the same words and expressions to ensure firm grasp
and recollection; (3) use of riddle-like expressions which a man
loves to master and reproduce with a feeling of superiority; (4)
description of minute details to create and sustain interest; (5)
short stories to attract attention before introducing a dry philo¬
sophical discussion; and (6) corroboration of a philosophical con¬
cept by means of popular beliefs and facts to excite curiosity and
create faith.

2. The Sutras

As has been already noticed , the Sutra works are written in
a peculiar terse style which may be traced to the prose of the Brah-
manas; for these latter texts are usually written in short sentences,
almost entirely without the use of relative and conditional clauses.
The Sutras, however, employ long compounds and gerunds to econo¬
mize the use of syllables. It may be said on the whole that the
language of the Sutras approaches very near to the norm set up by
Panini. Herein too are to be found occasionally words and forms
belonging to the Vedic period and also some Prakritisms and sole¬
cisms. Yet the language of the Sutras does not show the same lati¬
tude as is evinced in the epic language.

In phonology a possible change of "ji” > “a” is exemplified in
ua#ika” (< “finika” ?) (Ap. Dh. S» I. 6. 19. 1). The change of “n”
> "n” so peculiar to the MIA stage may be witnessed in “n&ma”
( Ap . S. S . X. 14. 1), "enam” ( Ap . S. S . XIV. 27. 7), “anulepana”
(£p. Dh. S- 1. 3. 11. 13), etc. Some confusion between the sibilants
is met with in “vaSiyan” for “vaslyan” (Kau. S. 4. 15); “ pdthsu ” for
“pdmsu” (Kau. S. 27. 18, 29. 21). The MSS of the Kau&ika-siitra
frequently write “ts” for “chh”: Thus we get “ avats&dya ” for
“ avachhddya ” (Kau. S. 24. 10). Occasionally “y” is written for
as in " yunaymi 99 (Kau. S* 3. 1). Then again Tamil-Malayalam “f”
for is found in “Karafi” (Jai. G. S. I. 14).

The dat. sg- of fern, nouns in “a,” <cl” and “u” has an ending “-ai”
as in “dak&hiyuyai” (Ap. S.S. II. 8. 3). The instr. sg. “vidya” occurs
in Ap. Dh> S. I. 11. 30. 3. In the same Sutra II. 1. 1. 17-18 “dara”
is used in singular. The shortening of a long vowel before termi-

484

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

nations is found in patnibhis ” (Ap. S.S . 14. 15. 2), “ gramanibhis ”
(Ap. S*S. 20. 4. 3). The Bjihaddevata (II. 8, 12, III. 92) gives
“patnayafy” as nom. pi. The noni. pi. “gab” is found in Ap. S.S •
10. 26. 7. The loc. sg. in “-an” of the bases ending in “-an” is
available in “ahan” (Ap. S.S. 9. 2. 1), “atman” (Ap. S-S. 6. 28. 20;
Kau. S • 72. 42), “ dhdman ” (Bau. S.S. 10. 59, etc.), “charmdn” (Ban.
S.S. 6. 28, 15. 17).

The forms “ddadati” (and “ dadati ”) for “ ddatte ” occur in the
Vaikhq,nasa Smarta Sutra 9. 2. 4, etc. The unaugmented forms occur
very often in the BjihaddevalA; cf. “bodhayat” (IV. 115), “sddat” (IV.
113), etc. The optative in “-ita” is also met with, cf. “ dayita ” (Ap.
S.S. 5. 25. 18), “prakshdlayita” Ap. Dh. S • I. 1. 2. 28), “dhdraylta,H
(Mdnava G. S. I. 1. 10), “kdmayita” (Bau. S.S, II. 1), “upanayxta”
(Kau. S. 17. 31. 31, etc.). The opt. pi. “-Iran” is found in “upakal-
payiran (Bau. S. S. 25. 12).

Absolutives in “-am,” a peculiarity often observed in the Brah-
manas, are found in such instances as “anavak^omam,” (Ap. S.S. II.
13. 7), “abhishekam” (Bau. S. S- II. 9), “ayujakdram” (Hiranyakesi
Pitrimedha Sutra 2. 1). Other irregular forms of absolutives are
“schotya” (Kau. S. 53. 18), “kshipya” (Kau. S. 30. 18). “ tyajya ”
(Agnivesya G- S. 3 11. 2), “ sdntvya ” (Brihaddevatd, IV. 3), “ samgri -
(Brihaddevatd, II- 48).

In sandhi also occasional departure from the grammarian's norm
is found in the removal of hiatus by crasis in “ patnydnjalau ” from
“patnya( fy) anjalau” (Kau. S. 6. 17), “daivateti” from “daivata iti”
< “ daivate iti” (Kau. S. 6. 34, etc.).

1. Wintemitz, H1L, I, p. 234.

2. Mun<jLaka Upanishad (I. 2. 7.) declares sacrifices as “unsafe boats” and the
fools who cling to it go again to old age and death.

3. “What is the cause? Brahma? whence are we bom? Whereby do we live? And
on what are we established? Overruled by whom, in pains and pleasures, do
we live our various conditions, O ye theologians?” Svet&svatara Upanishad, I. I.
Tr. by Hume, Thirteen Principal Upanishads, p. 394.

4. Chhdndogya, III. 14. Tr. by Wintemitz, H1L, -I, p. 250.

5. Chhandogya , VI. 1 ff.; also cf. the Brxhadaranyaka, II. 4.

6. Chhandogya, VIII, 7-12.

7. Brhaddranyaka, IV. 4. Tr. by Wintemitz, HIL. I, p. 259,

8. Kathaka Upanishad, I. 20 ff. Tr. by Hume, Thirteen Principal Upanishads. pp.
344 f.

9. Ahaih Brahma asmi (Brihadaranyaka, I. 4. 10).

10. Wintemitz, HIL, I, p. 266.

11. The origin of the Pratisakhyas is thus accounted for by Max Muller. “During
the Brahmana period the songs of the Veda were preserved by oral tradition
only, and as the spoken language of India had advanced and left the idiom of
the Veda behind as a kind of antique and sacred* utterance, it was difficult to
preserve the proper pronunciation of the sacred hymns without laying down a
certain number of rules on metre, accent, and pronunciation in general. The
necessity, however, of such a provision could hardly have been felt until certain

485

THE VEDIC AGE

differences had actually arisen in different seats of Brahmanic learning.’1
HASL, second edition, p. 117.

12. Wintemitz, H1L, I. p. 274 and fn. 2.

13. HASL, second edition, p. 205.

14. Hopkins, CHI, I, p. 229.

15. Dr. Wintemitz points out that Baudhayana is sometimes called a pravachana-
kdra, and that pravachana is perhaps the term for a literary type which comes
midway between the Brahm&pas and the Sutras. See HIL, I, p. 278, fn. 3.

16. For a detailed account of the grauta-sutras, cf. Ch. XU, pp. 235. ff.

17. This point has been discussed above, in Ch. XII. p. 243.

18. KHDS , I, pp. 8-9; SBE, II, XIV, Introduction.

19. Op. cit., p. 151.

486

CHAPTER XXV

POLITICAL AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS

I. POLITICAL THEORY

The political and legal ideas of the period are presented to us,
in a collected form, in the Dharma-sutras. This is a distinct ad¬
vantage, as hitherto we had to depend for them merely on isolated
passages scattered in the different Samhitas and Brahma^as. Al¬
though none of the existing Dharmasutras is probably older than
600 B . C-, they are no doubt based on earlier works of this class and
have preserved strata of earlier thought. It is remarkable that the
older Dharma-sutras are singularly free from the revolutionary
ideas in religion associated with Buddhism and other heterodox or
sectarian religious sects, and do not contain any trace of the great
territorial kingdoms which arose in India in the fifth and fourth
centuries B.C. We are, therefore, justified in treating the Dharma-
sutras as reflecting the ideas of the closing period of the Vedic Age.

The Dharma-sutras do not contain any systematic exposition of
legal principles and political doctrines such as we find in the Dhar-
masastras and Arthasastras of the later age. Nor does their concep¬
tion of law and politics conform to our present ideas on the subject.
As we shall see later, they ‘‘cover far more than law and do not cover
the whole of law.” As regards politics they view the state or
society as an organic whole, in which the different elements, such
as the king and the people, play their part according to Dharma
or Law, imposed or at least sanctioned by the Divine Will. Life
is also regarded as a whole without any sharp distinction between
public and private, or individual and collective- As a matter of
fact the collective organization of society dominates over the idea
of individual persons. Each individual has his duty and respon¬
sibility, rather than rights and privileges, fixed by law and custom,
and this applies as much to the king as to his meanest subject. Each
man has a recognized function, which he inherits as a member of
a group rather than selects of his own accord. To perform this
function successfully is his highest object in life, a duty not merely
political, social and moral, but also religious in character. For on
this depends not only his well-being in this life, but also his salva¬
tion in the nexl world. Like the modern collectivist theories (such
as Fascism) this view raises society above individuals, and strikes
at the very root of personality or individuality; but there is an im¬
portant difference. For the allegiance here is not to any party or
political principle, but to Dharma conceived as an eternal and im-

487

THE VEDIC AGE

mutable Law or Order, which is divine in character and does not
emanate from human will.

Such is the background against which the State is conceived in
the Dharma-sutra- It lays down the duty of the king and the people,
and dpes not worry about the rights of the latter and checks against
the tyranny of the former. For failure to do his duty the king is
sure to be visited with adequate penalties both in this world (by
way of expulsion) and the next. This was considered to be a suffi¬
cient deterrent, and we do not hear of the popular assemblies called
sabhd and samiti which in days of old regulated the affairs of state
and controlled the power of the king.

A comprehensive view is, however, taken of the life and duty
of a king. A high intellectual and moral discipline and military
training are prescribed for him. ^*tte must be fully instructed in
the threefold (sacred sciences) and in logic, and learn the manage¬
ment of chariots and the use of the bow; he shall be holy in acts
and speech, pure, and of subdued senses.” He shall not live better
than his gurus and ministers. His essential functions and duties
are “to protect the castes and orders in accordance with justice,”
and “to take measures for ensuring victory,” specially when danger
from foes threatens the kingdom. His duty of affording “protec¬
tion to all created beings” is very liberally interpreted. He must
support the learned Brahmanas and the poor and needy of all classes,
and none in his realm must suffer hunger, sickness, cold, or heat, be
it through want or intentionally. He must be impartial towards his
subjects and do what is good for them. It is further laid down that
“that king only takes care of the welfare of his subjects in whose do¬
minions, be it in villages or forests, there is no danger from thieves.”
That this was no mere pious wish but conceived as a fundamental
duty of the state, would appear from the injunction that if the stolen
property is not recovered he shall pay its value out of the treasury.1
Save and except the legal taxes the king was not authorized “to take
property for his own use from the inhabitants of his realm” (Vas. Dh.
S' XIX. 14) . The taxes were regarded as “pay” received by the king
for protecting his subjects. It amounted to one-sixth (of their in¬
comes or spiritual merit) (Bau. Dh. S. 1. 10. 18. 19).

The high position of the Brahmana in the State is indicated by
several injunctions. According to Gautama (VIII. 1) “a king and
a Brahmana deeply versed in the Vedas, these two uphold the moral
order in the world.” It is also declared (XI. 1) that the king is
master of all, with the exception of the Brahmai>as. The Brah¬
man as were also exempt from taxes. The Purohita or domestic
priest exercised high power and privileges and the king was also
to “take heed of that which astrologers and interpreters of omens”
told him, for “the acquisition of wealth and security depended
also upon that.”

488

POLITICAL AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS

The king had to act in religious and many other matters ac¬
cording to the advice of the Purohita. An interesting aspect of
the dependence of the king on the Purohita even in military mat¬
ters is seen in ritual literature- The Purohita guarantees success
to the king’s arms by his prayers. The view of Geldner2 that
these prayers were offered in the sabha or assembly-house, while
the king fought on the battle-field, is not countenanced by the
Grihya-sutras. It is true that the Sankh&yana Grihya-siitra lays
down that Vedic recitations were not to be carried on in any army-
camp, but ritual actually steps forth on the field of battle, and the
result is rather amusing. In the Asval&yana Grihya-sutra (III. 12)
we find that “when a battle is beginning,” the Purohita stands to
the west of the king’s chariot and mutters appropriate mantras
from the Rigveda while he makes the king put on his armour and
hands over to him bow and quiver. The Purohita also recites
mantras over the horses, when the king actually starts for battle,
and also when he ties to the king’s arm the guard (by which the
arm is protected against the bow-string). He then mounts on the
royal chariot and the king repeats the mantras, while driving, tou¬
ching the drum, and, finally, shooting off his arrows. It is also laid
down that the king “should commence the battle in the formation
invented by Aditya or by Usanas ” It would almost appear that
the ritual even dictated military tactics to the king.

The influence of the Purohita in moderating the autocratic zeal
of the king cannot be lost sight of in any appraisal of the political
theory of those days. The number of priests at the court of a king
may be many, but there is only one Purohita. Nay, one Purohita
may even do service for more than one king, for example Jala Jatu-
karnya was the Purohita of the kings of Kasi, Videha, and Kosala,
according to the Sankhayana Srauta-sutra (XVI. 29. 5).

We also hear of an influential body of Brahmanas forming a
Parishad. Although its chief function was to advise the king on
intricate and disputed points of law, it was probably a general body
of advisers on all matters, religious, political, and judicial. For in
a Sutra of Panini (V. 2. 112) the king is called Parishad-bala (one
whose strength lies in Parishad), and we definitely hear of adminis¬
trative functions exercised by Parishad' in later times. This Pa~>
shad was composed of at least ten (Brahmanas), viz.* “four men
who have completely studied the four Vedas, three men belonging
to the three orders (a student, a householder, and an ascetic), one
who knows the MImamsa, one who knows the Angas, and a teacher
of the sacred law.” These men must be “well instructed, skilled
in reasoning, and free from covetousness.”3

The term Parishad has an interesting history. In the Upani-
shads it means “a gathering of specialists discussing problems of

489

THE VEDIC AGE

philosophy”; in the Gobhila Grihya-sutra (III. 2. 40) it means a
council sitting round a teacher. The use of this name in the
Dharma-sutras for an advisory body of the king in judicial and pro¬
bably also administrative affairs, is perhaps significant of the chan¬
ged conception of state and society, to which attention has been
drawn above.

The Dharma-sutras usually view the king as the primitive ruler
of a petty state. There is a rule, for example, in Gautama (V. 30-31)
that a Madhuparka (a mixture of curds and honey) should be offered
to certain relations, if they come after a year, but to a king, who is
a Srotriya (proficient in the Vedas), as often as he comes. But if
the king is not a Srotriya, only a seat and water should be offered.
Again a king was to make way for a Srotriya (Gau. Dh. S. VI. 25),
a Brahmaria ( Ap . DJi. S . II. 5, 11, 5-6) and a Snataka (Vas. Dh. S.
XIII. 59)- Further, Gautama (XII. 43) implies and Apastamba (I.
9. 25. 4) expressly says that a king shall personally strike a thief
with the cudgel carried by the latter.

These passages convey the idea of a petty chief. b But there are
others which indicate the greatness and majesty of the king. Accord¬
ing to Apastamba (II. 10- 25. 2-15) he “shall cause to be built a town,
a palace, with a hall in front of it, in the heart of the town, and an
assembly-house at a little distance from it.” The palace hall served
as a guest-house, and provided rooms, a couch, food, and drink. The
assembly-house was used for the purpose of playing dice, and men of
the three higher castes were allowed to play there. Even this picture
shows that the king was a homely ruler and did not occupy an isola¬
ted position of grandeur and majesty, such as is indicated by the
pompous details of the Raj as uy a and Asvamedha sacrifices describ¬
ed at great length in the Srauta-sutras. The king was, of course,
entitled to the homage of all except the Brahmanas and wielded
great power and authority. There is one rule which throws con¬
siderable light on the status and position of the king. According
to Vasishtha (II- 49. 50) all interest on moneys lent ceases to accrue
on the death of the king and until the coronation of the new king.
This is probably a recognition of the principle that the king re¬
presents the state, and all state-regulations derive their power and
authority from him alone. This is an abstract principle of great
importance, but we do not find its logical application in any other
instance.

That kingship had come to be normally hereditary in the period
of the Sutras is seen from the tendency to associate the king’s son in
the monarchy — a tendency which has already received ritual sanc¬
tion. The Asvalayana Srauta-sutra, for example, in its description of
the Rajasuya (IX. 3) tells us that the Hotri narrates the dkhydna
of &unahiepa to the anointed king seated with his son and minis¬
ters on a golden seat. That the monarchy was occasionally elec-

490

POLITICAL AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS

tive is at the same time shown by the legend in the Nirukta (II. 10)
of the Kuru Brothers, Devapi and Santanu, which, though of doubt¬
ful character as a legend, retains its value as evidence of the con¬
temporary practice of selecting, as king, one member of the royal
family to the exclusion of another less suitable in an emergency-
The field of selection could also extend to the entire nobility.

The Sutra VI- 2. 59 in Pacini shows that a Brahmana could some¬
times become a king. Again the sacrifices prescribed in the Srauta-
sutras for an oppressed and disgruntled Rajanya or Vaisya to acquire
supreme power suggest that kingly power was not very stable and
kingship was not confined to the royal family.

The insecurity of royal power during this period is also illus¬
trated by the many references to kings expelled ( apa-ruddha ) from
their kingdoms and striving to regain their sovereignty by means of
spells (Kausika-sutra, XVI. 30).

2. ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATION

The duties of the king, briefly sketched in the Dharma-sutras,
give us for the first time some definite idea of the scope of admi¬
nistration- His supreme duty, as noted above, was the protection of
the people, and maintenance of the rules of Caste and Order. As
a corollary to this, he must punish the thieves and other criminals
as well as those who stray from the path of duty laid down in the
Sastras. His authority and jurisdiction thus extended practically
over the entire activities of his subjects. One of his most important
duties was to decide legal disputes. He was to protect the interests
of a minor until he attained majority. He was also to support
learned priests, the widows of his soldiers, those who are exempt
from taxes (to be specified later) and Brahmacharins. He must
preserve fruit-bearing trees. He must make an equal division of
the booty secured in battle and distribute it equitably among those
who shared the risks of war with him: He must prevent the use
of false weights and measures-

For carrying on the administration the king appointed a regular
heirarchy of officers. According to Apastamba (II. 10. 26. 4) the
king “shall appoint men of the first three castes, who are pure and
truthful, over villages and towns for the protection of the people.”
These officials were to appoint subordinates possessing the same
qualities. They were to protect the towns and villages from thieves
and must be made to repay what is stolen within their jurisdiction.
These passages, though brief, hold out the picture of a regular ad¬
ministrative machinery which was set up for the security of life
and property.

One of the most important branches of administration was that
for the collection of taxes- The texts do not make it quite clear
whether the same officials who protected the towns and villages also

491

THE VEDIC AGE

collected taxes, or if there were others specifically employed for the
purpose. But in any case the long list of taxable commodities shows
a developed stale of administrative organization. We come across
a general statement that the king was entitled to a sixth part of the
income or spiritual merit of his subjects (Bait. Dh. S. 1. 10. 18. 1;
Vas* Dh. S. 1. 42). But Gautama (X. 24-35) gives a long list of taxes,
viz., one-sixth, one-eighth, or one-tenth of the agricultural produce,
the variation probably being due to difference in the quality of land,
one-fifth of cattle and gold, one-twentieth of merchandise, and one-
sixtieth of roots, fruits, flowers, medicinal herbs, honey, meat, grass,
and firewood. The artisans and other manual workers had to do one
day’s work every month for the king, and there were similar rules
in respect of owners of ships and carts. One-tenth was levied on
goods imported by sea (Bau. Dh. S. 1. 10. 18- 14). Certain categories
of persons were exempted from taxation. The list is a fairly large
one and is differently given in the different Dharma-sutras, this
lack of uniformity being a general feature with respect to most of
the topics treated. Exempt from taxation, according to Apastamba
(II. 10- 10. 26. 10-17), are a learned priest, women (according to
Vasishtha, only special categories of them like unmarried girls,
wives of servants, widows who have rejoined their families, etc.),
ascetics, students, infants, old men, the blind, dumb, deaf, and diseas¬
ed persons, and Sudras who live by washing the feet. To this list
Vasishtha (XIX. 23) adds one who has no protector, and a servant of
the king.

As regards military matters, the king must be always prepared
for war. He. should lead his fighting hosts personally to battle,
and be brave and fearless in the field. Very noteworthy is the
high ethical standard of the rules of battle. The use of poisoned
weapons is strictly prohibited. One must not kill those who are
helpless, ask for mercy, or offer submission by eating grass like
“cows” (which was the ancient equivalent of the “white flag”).

The village was the basic administrative unit. The inhabitants
of the village may be roughly classified into four groups. First may
be mentioned the Brahmanas and the Kshatriyas who did not culti¬
vate the land themselves, but some of whom had a proprietary in¬
terest in it by virtue of royal grants. Secondly there were the
cultivating owners, mostly Vaisyas. To the third group belonged
various artisans such as the chariot-makers (ratha-kara) , carpenters
( takshan ), smiths ( karmara ) and others who formed the bulk of the
village population. Lastly there were the Sudras and other labou¬
rers who tilled the soil or did other menial work as day-labourers.
All equally were under the authority of the king, and had to render
tribute in various forms, such as food or service, either to the king
or to such members of the royal family or household who paid a
visit to the village. The head of the village was the Gramanl

492

POLITICAL AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS

(leader of the Grama) who discharged military duties in times of war
and civil duties in times of peace. Whether the post of the Gra¬
ma?! was hereditary, and whether the officer was nominated by the
king or elected by the village council, cannot be definitely stated-
The varying local customs make it likely that all these modes of
appointment in the case of a Gramani were current in different parts
of the country. The royal officials, mentioned above, who are said
to have protected villages or towns, probably acted as police-officers
and were different from Grdmanis.

Another official named in the Sutra texts of this age (as also in
the Saxhhitas and Brahmanas), is the Sthapati. From the fact that
the &rauta-sutras of Katyayana (I. 1. 12) and Apastamba (IX. 14.
12) mention a Nishada-sthapati, the word may be understood in the
sense of “Governor.” Other passages in the same glrauta-sutras,
however, point to the “Chief Judge ” It is very likely that the.
Sthapati combined in his office both the executive and judicial
functions.

3. LAW AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS

As we have seen above, there is no clear evidence in the earlier
age of organized criminal justice administered by the king or by a
judicial tribunal, and the prevalence of the system of wergeld
( vaira-deya ) rather suggests that the injured party took the law
into its own hands. It is in this period that we for the first time
meet with the theory that a crime is a disturbance of the public
peace and that, therefore, the penalty for the crime in the shape of
fine must be paid to the king or to a Brahmana authorized by him.
Similarly it is in the Dharma-sutras that we find the real beginnings
of civil and criminal law\ But as already noted above, the concep¬
tion of law was very different from that of the present day. There
was no code of positive law emanating from the authority of the
king. The Veda, the tradition (Smriti), and practice of those who
know (the Veda) are said to be the threefold sources of law each
evidently being superior to the one mentioned later), and “if autho¬
rities of equal force are conflicting, either may be followed at plea¬
sure” (Gau. Dh. S. I- 1-4). This obviously left a great deal to be settled
by usages, conventions, precedents and customs. No wonder, there¬
fore, that the rules and customs of different castes, communities,
families, and localities are expressly recognized as having the force
of law. It is also laid down that the communities (vargas) of “culti¬
vators, traders, herdsmen, money-lenders and artisans have autho¬
rity to lay down rules for their respective classes” and a right to
expound them in the royal court of justice (Gau. Dh. S. XL 20-22;
Vas. Dh « S . I. 17).

Further, many activities of social and religious nature, which
lie beyond the jurisdiction of a modern law-court, are brought within

493

THE VEDIC AGE

the scope of law, and penance and loss of caste are prescribed as
penalties both for offences of this nature (e.g. eating the flesh of
forbidden animals, neglect of the Vedas, drinking spirituous liquor,
incest) as well as for heinous crimes such as theft, homicide, causing
abortion, adultery, etc. ( Ap . Dh. S . I. 7. 21- 8 ff; Gau. Dh. S, XXII).
In some cases, penance and loss of caste are imposed in addition to
other punishment, but in others they alone are prescribed, and pe¬
nance is supposed to wash off the guilt of even the most heinous
crimes like adultery with a teacher’s wife or drinking spirituous
liquor, for which death by a painful process is also laid down as an
alternative punishment (Ap. Dh. S • I. 9. 25. 1-10).

That the king himself personally administered civil and criminal
justice appears from certain indications in the Sutras (Gau. Dh. S.
XII. 43). The administration of justice was to be regulated by the
Vedas, the Dharmasastras, the Angas, and Puranas (Gau Dh. S • XI.
19), due regard being paid to local and family usage or (in other
words) to the laws of districts, castes, and families which the king
must learn from those who in each case have authority to speak
(Gau. Dh. S. XI. 20-22). It seems to have been permissible for the
king to delegate his judicial authority or at least the supervision
of punishments to a royal officer or a Rajanya who could act as an
adhyaksha (overseer). Difficult cases were referred to the Parishad
whose composition has been mentioned above. When it failed to
arrive at any satisfactory solution in doubtful cases, the king referred
the matter to a Srotriya or Brahmana of high learning (Gau* Dh.
S. XXVIII. 50). The theory of danda (“the rod of punishment”)
as the symbol of penal powers vested in the king had now fully
developed.

Under criminal law, assault, theft, and adultery are the main
general topics discussed in the Dharma-sutras. The Nirukta (VI.
27) gives a list of seven sins (“crimes”) among which the slaying of
a bhruya is mentioned. Bhruna is generally interpreted as “em¬
bryo,” but later tradition takes it to mean “Brahmana” also. The
killing of a Brahmana alone is murder — the most heinous crime.
The Vasishtha Dharma-sutra mentions cases of manslaughter where
‘the slayer commits no crime by killing an assassin” (III. 15-18). The
Apastamba Dharma-sutra (I. 10. 28. 1-3) discusses and defines
“theft” as follows: “He who under any conditions whatsoever,
covets (and takes) what belongs to another commits a theft (ac¬
cording to Kautsa, Harlta, Pushkarasadi and Kanvah but some excep¬
tions are noted by Varshayani. For example, food for a draught-ox
cr seeds ripening in the pod, if taken only in moderate quantities, do
not constitute theft.”

The punishment for theft is rather severe, sometimes even death.
The thief with loosened hair and carrying a cudgel presents himself
before the king. The king with his own hand hits him with that

494

POLITICAL AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS

very cudgel. If the thief dies, he atones for his sin- The thief
may expiate his sin also by throwing himself into a fire or starving
himself to death; but if he is forgiven by the king or if the king Tails
to strike him, the guilt falls on the king. It appears that this punish¬
ment of death became operative only when the thief was caught
red-handed.

Generally speaking, physical chastisement or expulsion from
the country was the penalty for crimes. The fines of the later age
are known, but had not yet become systematized. Caste-interest is
a factor in the regulation of the severity of the punishment. Where¬
as, for example, a Sudra would receive capital punishment with
confiscation of his property for homicide or theft, a Brahmana would
only be blinded. For abuse (or defamation) the amount of the fine
varies with the caste of the offender and the offended party. With
the gradual reduction of fines, according to the descending scale
of caste of the offended, a Brahmana goes scot-free if he abuses a
Siidra; but “a Sudra who intentionally reviles twice-born men by
criminal abuse, or criminally assaults them with blows, shall be
deprived of the limb with which he offends” (Gau» Dh. S . XII. 1).
In general the discriminatory penalties and punishments laid down
for the 6udras make painful reading ( Ap . Dh. S . II. 10 27. 9, 14-15,
etc.), and even if we assume that they were not usually resorted to
in practice, they throw a lurid light on the arrogance of the upper,
classes and the helpless condition of the down-trodden lower grades
of society. Some relics of barbarous punishments are preserved-
in the Dharma-sutras such, for example, as those prescribed by
Apastamba for adultery (I. 9- 25. 1-2; I. 10. 28. 15). The penalties
prescribed for deserting a wife are also rude and primitive. The
husband has to put on an ass’s skin, with the hair turned outside,
and beg in seven houses, saying, “Give alms to him who forsook
his wife.” That shall be his livelihood for six months (Ap. Dh. S.
I. 10. 28. 19; see below, Ch. XXVI, p. 506). A drinker of spirituous
liquor is to drink boiling liquid until he dies (Ap. I. 9. 25. 3). One
redeeming feature, however, should be mentioned. Gautama (XII.
17) prescribes that if a learned man offends, the punishment shall
be very much increased. How one wishes that this very salutary
principle were extended to considerations of caste, so that the dis¬
criminatory penalties would be just reversed 1

The law of manslaughter shows that in spite of the public
organization of criminal justice during the Sutra period, the system
of private vengeance, moderated by the wergeld (vairadeya), was
still in force Thus although the crime of murdering a Brahmana
is too heinous to be expiated by a wergeld, one thousand cows
constitute the wergeld for killing a Kshatriya, one hundred cows
in the case of a Vaisya, and ten cows for killing a Sudra (Ap. Dh. S.

495

THE VEDIC AGE

I. 9. 24* 1-4). The cows are apparently to be a compensation to the
relations of the murdered man so that they may not press for the
punishment of death to the offender. Over and above this payment
to the relations, Baudhayana (I. 10. 19. 1. 2) prescribes the payment
of a bull to the king, probably partly as appeasement for the infringe¬
ment of his peace, and partly as reward for his intercession with the
relations. Among other Aryan nations, too, this method of com¬
pensation for murder is found- The Apastamba Dharma-sutra (II.
5. 11. 3) alone mentions ordeals, but in a very general way.

Though dharma or law (civil and criminal) is properly the
sphere of the Dharma-sutras, we find occasional notices of certain
legal topics in Sutra texts earlier than the Dharma-sutras . The
Nirukta (III. 4) says that women were not entitled to partition or
inheritance, and uses the technical term ddydda “heir,” the term
ddya being established soon after the Rigveda in the sense of “in¬
heritance” or “a share of the father’s property which is divided
among his sons either during his life or after his death.” Similarly
the Sankhayana Srauta-sutra (XV. 27. 3) refers to “inheritance” in
the technical sense- The Grihya-sutras again refer to courts of
justice in connection with the vaslkarana rite which aims at secretly
winning over the court and the assessors or jurors to one’s side.
Failing this, the rite would seek to deprive the judge of the power
of speech (so that no judgment could be delivered). The Gpihya-
sutras also touch upon legal matters incidentally, as when they state
the rule that one of the occasions for kindling anew the domestic
.fire is the time of the division of the inheritance, or the rule that
the site of a house should be undisputed property.

Detailed rules of inheritance of landed property occur for the
first time in the Dharma-sutras. A few typical and illustrative rules
alone may be cited. Sapinda males (those related within six de¬
grees) are heirs in default of near relations like sons, and Sakulyas
(remote relations) inherit in default of Sapir^Uis. The widow is
not entitled to inheritance, though, according to some authorities,
the wife’s share consists of her ornaments and gifts from relations.
According to Apastamba, a daughter inherits only in default of
sons, teacher, or pupil. The king inherits in default of these, who
are all expected to keep the spiritual good of the deceased in view
while spending the inheritance. Very possibly, and more often
than not (though not necessarily), the division of property took
place during the lifetime of the owner, rather than after his death.

Some authorities hold that among sons only the eldest one in¬
herits. Apastamba Dharma-sutra (II. 6. 14. 7) refers to a local law
whereby the eldest son receives (in some countries) gold or black
cattle or the black produce of the soil( ?) , in other words the best
chattel. But the rules in the Dharma-sutras are not consistent in

496

POLITICAL AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS

this matter, and it is laid down also that the father may divide
equally among all his sons.

Whereas earlier authorities are content with the mention of the
vague term “sons” in the matter of inheritance, it is the latest
Dharma-sutras like that of Vasishtha which give a classification of
the “twelve” sons into two groups, (1) the heirs and kinsmen, and
(2) kinsmen but not heirs, in the manner of the later formal law¬
books.

The whole matter of inheritance is rather vague, there being
no universal law regulating it. Different rules are given by the
various texts and legal authorities, and they were evidently autho¬
ritative in different localities or families.

Lost property is to be proclaimed by a crier, and if the owner
does not turn up within one year, the king takes it giving a certain
percentage (25 per cent) to the finder, unless the latter is a Brah-
mana, who keeps the whole of it. All treasure-troves belong to the
king, but the rules are not unanimous on the point, and whereas,
according to one authority, any finder gets one-sixth, according to
another authority, if the finder be a learned Brahmana, the king
shall not take it (Vas. Dh. S. III. 13-14).

Title to property can be established by documents, witness, and
possession. If the documents are at variance, the evidence of old
men and of guilds and corporations may be called in (Vas* Dh . S.
XVI. 10-15). The categories of property which are not lost, even
though enjoyed by others, are interesting; viz., a pledge, a boundary,
the property of minors, an (open) deposit, a sealed deposit, women,
the property of a king (and) the wealth of a Srotriya. So women
are property. Eight other kinds of property which have been en¬
joyed by another person for ten years are lost to the owner (Vas.
Dh. S . XVI. 17-18). The king himself is the trustee of the pro¬
perty of a minor.

The legal rate of interest is roughly the equivalent of fifteen
per cent per annum; but the influence of caste is noticeable even in
this matter, and different rates of interest are payable by different
castes. Neither a Brahmana nor a Kshatriya may become a usurer.
The lending business, therefore, was a sort of monopoly of the
Vaiiyas.

1. For the duties of the king enumerated above, cf. Gautama Dh. S. X, XI, and
Apattamba Dh. S. II, 10, 25, 10-15.

2. Ved. Stud., H. 135.

3. The constitution of the Parishad is laid down, with slight variations, in Gau.
Dh. S. xxvm, 48-49; Vo*. Dh. S. III. 20; Bau Dh. S. I. 1. 1. 7-8.

497

CHAPTER XXVI

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

1. THE XJPANISHADS1

Long before the period of the Brahma^as, the thought-ferment
which culminated in the rich philosophical speculations of the
Upanishads had come to the surface in certain RV-hymns (X. 129,
etc.) which express doubts concerning the efficacy of the priestly
cult and the current belief in gods. The philosophical hymns of the
AV and some portions of the YV Samhitds carry on (though only
in a symbolic form) the tradition of these sceptics and doubters,
who were certainly not the priests* Not only in the Upanishads but
also in the Brahmai?as, there is clear evidence of the fact that kings
and warriors share the honours, if not the monopoly, of the intel¬
lectual and literary harvest of these days with the Brahma^as who
had to go to them very often for instruction. Nay, even women
and people of doubtful parentage took part in this intellectual life
and very often possessed the highest knowledge. It was probably
these non-priestly circles opposed to the Brahmanic way of works
( Karma-mar g a ) that formed the chief recruiting ground for forest
hermits and wandering ascetics, who kept aloof from the sacrificial
ceremonial of the Brahmanas by renouncing the world and followed
the 11 way of knowledge” (Jndna-mdrga), Buddhism represents,
very probably, one fruit of such protestant activity. It was in the
nature of things impossible that the Brahmajnas should be confined
to the opposite camp and, as noted above (Ch. XXII, p. 451), their
supreme genius for compromise and adjustments of differences pro¬
bably led later to the formulation of the wonderful theory of Asra-
mas or different stages of Aryan life. (1) In the first one lives with
a teacher and learns the Veda as a Brahmacharin; (2) as a house¬
holder ( Grihastha ) he next founds a household, begets children and
himself offers sacrifices (gjihya and Srauta) or has them offered;
(3) when grown old, he leaves his house and village for the forest,
where as a V&naprastha (forest-hermit) he offers only a minimum
sacrificial service and devotes himself mainly to meditation upon the
mystical and symbolical significance of the sacrifice. The Araq-
yakas, as noted above, are eminently suitable to the hermits as
text-books. The oldest Upanishads speak of these A&ramas only
as three types or branches of life, but not as successive stages. It
is only in the late Upanishads, the Great Epic, and the Dharma-
£astras, that the theory of successive stages of life is formulated
and is developed further by the addition of a fourth stage, that of
the Samnydsin who gives up even sacrifice, in fact, all good works,

498

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

and as an ascetic, renounces the world to meditate on the Absolute
(Brahman) , with a view to realize it or achieve union with it. In
the early period, the last two stages probably formed a single stage.
Anyway, the unbelievers in ritualism who preferred the Jndna -
mdrga to the Karma-rmrga of the priests were completely placated
by this scheme, which allowed them scope in the last two stages or
Asramas.

If one single doctrine were to be selected from the old Upa-
nishads as representing the quintessence of Upanishadic philosophy,
and if we were asked to sum it up in one sentence, that
sentence would be: “The universe is Brahman, but the Brahman
is the Atman/* The conception of the world-soul, Atman has
developed from that of the world-man (in the RV ), and the earlier
conception of the personal creator, Prajapati, has grown into the
Upanishadic one of the impersonal source of all being, namely Brah¬
man* The two streams meet in the following manner: Atman in the RV
is “breath”; in the Brahmanas it comes to mean “self” or “soul,”
and through the identification of the Pranas (vital airs), which
are supposed to be based on the Atman, with the gods, an Atman
comes to be attributed to (and pervades) the universe (as in the
Satapatha Br. XL 2. 3), the conception having already attained to
a high degree of abstraction. On the other hand, Brahman (neuter),
which in the RV means only “prayer,” or devotion, in the oldest
Brahmanas, signifies already “Universal holiness” as manifested in
prayer, priest, and sacrifice; from this to the holy principle animat¬
ing all nature in the Upanishads is but a short step. This word
“ Brahman ” epitomizes, as it were, the whole evolution of religious
and philosophical thought in India. This unity of Brahman (the
cosmic principle) and Atman (the psychical principle) or (in other
words) the identity of the individual Atman with the world-Atman
expressed by the Upanishadic dictum “tat tvam asi” (“Thou art
That”), is very tersely explained by Deussen:2 “The Brahman,
the power which presents itself to us materialized in all existing
things, which creates, sustains, preserves and receives back into
itself again all worlds, this eternal, infinite, divine power is identical
with the Atman, with that which, after stripping off everything
external, We discover in ourselves as our real most essential being,
our individual self, the soul.” The Upanishads, piling, as they do,
metaphor on metaphor on this conception, are unceasingly struggling
to help an understanding of the true nature of the pantheistic Self.
Ajataiatru explains to Gargya Balaki3 that the true Brahman is
to be sought only in the knowing and intelligent Spirit ( Purusha )
in man, i . e. in the Atman (the self) out of which emanate all worlds,
all gods, all beings. The Atman thus takes the place of the more per¬
sonal Prajapati as a creative power* The beautiful dialogue between
Yajnavalkya and Maitreyl ( Brihadarctyydka Up. II. 4) expresses

499

THE VEDIC AGE

the doctrine that the Atman is one with the Universe and that
everything exists only in so far as it is the cognitive self. No
wonder, one of the later Upanishads ( Svetdsvatara IV. 10) should
contain the notion (which in later Vedanta -becajne so r prominent)
that the material world is an illusion (m&yd), produced by Brahman
as by a conjurer (may in).

Prana plays an important part in the psychology and meta¬
physics ©f the Upanishads. Prana is breath of life, life, or life-
principle. In the singular Prana is a frequent appellation of the
Atman . A favourite theme with the Upanishads is a description
of this Prana, which is identical with the intelligent Self, and of its
relations to the Pranas (plural), Le. the organs of the soul (breath,
speech, sight, hearing, and the organ of thinking). The reciprocal
action between these organs of the soul and the corresponding live
forces of Nature-wind, fire, the sun, the quarters of heaven and the
moon— is also often touched upon. This explains the frequently
recurring psychological fable of the quarrel among the Promts re¬
garding seniority. This Prana doctrine is also responsible for much
poetic speculation on the vicissitudes of the individual Atman in
the conditions of waking, sleeping, dreaming, and death, and its
wanderings in the Beyond, up to the point of its emancipation, i.e.
complete absorption in the Brahman. Thus, in a passage of poetic
beauty, unsurpassed perhaps in the literature of the world, the
Brihaddranyaka Up. (IV. 3«4)4 tells us of the fortunes of the soul
and incidentally develops the doctrine of the transmigration of souls,
and in close connection with it, the ethical doctrine of Karman
(action) which, with the infallibility of a law of nature, must pro¬
duce its consequences (its reactions on the ethical plane must be
equal and opposite?) and regulate the new birth, which thus de¬
pends on a man’s own deeds and makes man truly “an architect
of his own fate.” This is the germ of the Buddhist doctrine which,
while denying the existence of soul altogether, allows Karman. to
continue after death and determine the next birth. The Chhan-
dogya Up. gives us the most detailed account of this theory of trans¬
migration. The forest-ascetic, equipped with knowledge and faith,
enters after death the devaydna (the path of the gods) which leads
to absorption in (i.e. oneness with) Brahman or deliverance. The
householder who performs sacrifices and works goes by the pitri -
ydna (the path of the Fathers) to the moon, where he abides till
the consequences of his actions are exhausted, and then returns to
earth, where he is first born as a plant and then as a member of
one of the “dvija” (or three higher) classes. This is a kind of
double retribution, first in the next world (which is traceable to a
survival of the old Vedic belief about future life), and then by trans¬
migration in this. The wicked are born again as outcastes, dosrs, or
swine. The Brihaddranyaka (VI. 2. 15-16) gives a similar account.

500

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

The Kaushitaki Up. (I. 2-3) gives a somewhat different itinerary,
according to which, after death all go first to the moon. From here,
some go by the path of the Fathers to Brahman, while others return
to various forms of earthly existence from man to worm. The
earliest form of this theory is found in the Satapatha Brahman a
which speaks of repeated births and deaths in the next world, both
for the man who has correct knowledge and performs a certain
sacrifice, resulting in his attaining immortality, and for the ignorant
defaulter, who ultimately becomes the prey of death. In the Upani-
shadic version, the rebirth takes place in this world. So it is not
necessary to suppose (though it may not be impossible) that the
theory was picked up by the Vedic Aryans from the animistic views
of the aborigines. Some hymns of RV (X. 16. 3; 58. 1-12) contain
hints of animism.

A very sound ethical idea underlies the Upanishadic doctrine of
the Atmaii 5 the logical and beautiful conclusion of which must be
that it is the Universal Soul which we love in each individual, and
that the recognition of this Atman must lead to love for all creatures.
But it is the doctrine of Karman that represents the preponderance
of the moral element in the Upanishads as compared to the Brah¬
man as- Nevertheless, moral precepts are met with in a few passages
only as, e.g., in the famous Taittinya Upanishad (I. 11) inculcating
truthfulness, duty, etc., and in the. Brihaddranyaka Up. (V. 2i
preaching self-restraint, generosity, and compassion. The reason
is not far to seek. The highest object — union with Brahman — is
attainable only by cognition, by giving up non-knowledge, i.e. all
works good and bad- Sacrifices and pious works can only lead
to newer births, but knowledge alone lifts one above the maze of
Samsdra to the One and Eternally True. This conception of “know¬
ledge” or “cognition” has evolved out of “the knowledge of some
secret doctrine or other sacrificial science” on which insistence is
laid in the Brahmanas and Aranyakas. The longing for this true
knowledge, leading to the disregard of all pleasures, finds poetical
expression in the legend of Nachiketas (ante, p. 475) in one of the
most remarkable and beautiful Upanishads, the Kdthaka, but in the
Maitraydniya Up. (I. 2-4), one of the latest, it leads to an utter con¬
tempt of the world and that pessimistic trait of thought which recurs
so often in the Buddhist as well as later Indian literature. The
fact is that although at bottom the old Upanishads are not pessi¬
mistic, describing as they do Brahman and Atman as anandamaya
(“consisting of joy”), belief in the unreality of the world must ulti¬
mately lead to contempt for it.

Thus we find in the Upanishads vigorous and creative philoso¬
phical thought clothed in the language of poetry. No wonder they
make a powerful appeal to the heart and the head- The thinkers
seek earnestly for the truth and so their thoughts become a fervent

50t

V.A. — 32

THE VEDIC AGE

expression of the ever unsatisfied human yearning for knowledge.
All the philosophical systems and religions of India, heretical or
orthodox, have sprung up from the Upanishads. The theological-
philosophical systems of Sarhkara, Ramanuja and others are founded
on the V ed^nta-Sutras of Badarayana which in their turn are reared
on the doctrines of the Upanishads. Reference has already been
made above (pp. 475 If.) to the profound influence exercised by the
Upanishads on human thought outside India.

We may now represent a few fundamental tenets of the Upa¬
nishads in the form of propositions6 in the manner of Deussen.

(1) The Atman is the knowing subject and as such can never be¬
come an object for us and is therefore itself unknowable- It can

, only be defined negatively. When later Vedanta defined it as being ,
thought, and bliss (sach-chid-ananda) on the basis , of the frequent
references to these separate elements scattered in the older, Upani¬
shads, it is nothing but a negative characterization, because being
is rather a not-being in an empirical sense, thought is the negation
of all objective being, and bliss is the negation of all suffering.

(2) As the Atman is the metaphysical unity expressing itself in all
empirical plurality — a unity found only in our consciousness — it is
the sole reality. To know the Atman is, therefore, to know every¬
thing. There is really no plurality; there can be no becoming ;
“change” is a mere name. (3) The pantheism of the Upanishads is
but a compromise between the two opposite points of view — the
metaphysical one which does not recognize any reality outside of
the Atman, i.e. consciousness, and the empirical one according to
which a manifold universe exists external to us. The Atman being
the Universe, it remains the sole reality although the universe is
real. But what distinguishes Upanishadic pantheism from that of
Europe is the subtle distinction made by the Upanishads when they
state that the universe is in God, but never that the universe is
God. God (or Atman) is transcendent as well as immanent.
(4) Thus when it is stated that the universe is the Atman , the iden¬
tity remains very obscure. Tills obscurity was sought to be re¬
moved by borrowing the well-known empirical category of causality
and representing that the Atman is the chronologically antecedent
cause and the universe is its effect, its creation.

2. THE SUTRAS

Side by side with the high philosophy of the Upanishads, laying
stress on knowledge and meditation as the means to emancipation,
we find a continuance of the old sacrificial rituals of the Brahmanas
throughout the period under review. The Srauta- and Grihya-
Sutras (ante, p. 478) are our chief sources of information regarding
the ritualistic religion of the age, and some important features of
the rituals described in them are noted below.

502

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

As a rule, the Srauta sacrifices required the use of three fires.
The number of priests was sixteen or seventeen, not counting the
actual performers of minor ritual acts such as the slaying of the
animal victims and other menial functions in a fairly complicated
ritual. Prayers to more than one god — nay, a very large number of
gods — accompanying the ritual acts, were another characteristic*
Sometimes, as in the Apri litanies, the order of the deities invoked
was the same whatever the families that addressed them* Among
the sacrifices, some are the norm ( prakritis ) which others (the
vikritis ) follow as a model. For example, the new and full moon
sacrifices serve as the norm for a sacrifice of the Ishji type and for
the animal sacrifice in .its form as offering to Agni and Soma. The
latter becomes the norm for other and more elaborate animal sacri¬
fices. Agnishtoma is the prakriti or norm of the Soma sacrifice in
all its variations including the Dvadasaha, while the Sattras are
based on the latter. Among the details of performances in every
sacrifice some are subsidiary ( anga ) and common to many sacrifices,
while others ( pradhdna ) are special or peculiar to it only. A pecu¬
liarity of the Soma sacrifice is the singing of the Sam a ns or melodies
based on verses of the Rigveda , each of which could be sung to
different melodies. When, however, more than one verse is sung
to one melody, we have a Stotra usually made up of triplets or
Pragathas. The Stomas further are forms or ways of chanting
Stotras, of which there are numerous varieties. The Stotra is fol¬
lowed by a Sastra which is a recitation of the Hotri or his assistants.
Broadly speaking, there are two types of Srauta sacrifices, the Soma
sacrifices characterized by the singing of the Samans, and the Havir-
yajnas marked by the absence of Saman-singers. The animal
sacrifice is midway between the two. It does not employ the
Saman-singers and so should be deemed a Haviryajna, but, on the
other hand, is a vital part of the Soma sacrifice.

The Gnhya or domestic ritualCa is so called because it centres
round the domestic fire or the fire which is established in the home
and is maintained by the householder. It was the duty of the house¬
holder and his family, including wife, son, daughter, and pupil, to
see that it was kept constantly burning and alive. If it ever went
out, it had to be rekindled ceremoniously by friction, or borrowed
from the house of a wealthy person or of the performer of many
sacrifices. The normal occasions for the establishment (with proper
ceremony) of the domestic fire were marriage, the division of pro¬
perty of the family, the samdvartana (“the return of the student
after the completion of his period of studentship”), the death of the
head of the family (when the eldest son kindled a new fire), and a
continuous break of twelve days in the maintenance of the fire. As
a rule, the householder himself performed the domestic sacrifices,
the wife being allowed to act for him, if necessary, at the morning

503

THE VEDIC AGE

and evening libations and at the evening Bali. The employment of
a Brahman is optional, though he must be requisitioned at the
Sulagava (spit-ox) and Dhanvantari sacrifices. When the house¬
holder did not call in the Brahman, a straw puppet or a sunshade
and garment were placed on the vacant seat in the south which
would have been occupied by the Brahman if he were employed.
The marriage formulas were muttered by the bridegroom himself
if he were a Brahmana, otherwise by the Brahmanas on his behalf.
In the offerings to the gods the position of the sacrifice's sacred
thread was over the left shoulder and under the right arm-pit, but
exactly the reverse in the offerings to the Pitris. The domestic offer¬
ings receive the name pdka ” in distinction from the Srauta. Pdka
means “cooked food/’ or as an adjective, “simple.” Whatever the
original sense (and neither is unsuitable), the term is comprehensive
enough to include offerings of milk, curds, melted butter, rice, barley,
sesame, barely-gruel, porridge, and even the flesh of animals, though
these were offered on very rare and special occasions. Varieties
of butter (butter at various degrees of temperature) are used, the
butter-offering being of a simple type. The fore-offerings and after¬
offerings, the kindling- verses or instruction-formulae ( nigadas ) and
the invocation of the Ida which are well-known features of the
Srauta offerings are conspicuous by their absence in the Pdka
(“simple” or “baked”) offerings. The few occasions for an animal
sacrifice are marriage, offerings to the manes and the guest-reception.
The only special animal sacrifice is the Sulagava (spit-ox), which
inclines more to the Srauta type.

It is necessary to make a few general observations on certain
important aspects of the Vedic sacrifice and the element of magic
in the ritual. It is impossible to accept the view that all worship
of the gods is to be traced to the cult of the dead, being but an
imitation of the mode of providing for the dead. The human wor¬
shipper, realizing his weakness and utter helplessness, leans, as
it were, for support on the all-powerful gods — a support which he
seeks to canvass by the offering of gifts. This is the essential
nature of the Vedic sacrifice. This divine help and the power of
magic were both invoked through the sacrifice, in the inevitable
struggle with the forces of evil or the demons. Magic and religion
are never confused in the Vedic religion. The fear of the living
for the dead plays an important part in the cult of the dead, but
it must be remembered that there is no direct fear of the spirit
of the dead, to whom no hostile nature is attributed. It is rather
the fear of death — the fear of the great change — that has affected
them. This explains why the whole cult of the dead in Vedic ritual
is marked by love and deep regard for the dead ancestors, and why
providing nourishment for them is a matter that claims the respect¬
ful attention of the living all his life.

504

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

Keith thinks that “in the Rigveda and in the later period alike,
the cult of the gods is marked by the absence of any temple or
house of the god, even of the simplest kind.”7 This view may,
however, be justly questioned. If by “temple” we understand “a
sacred place set apart for purposes of worship and devotion to a
deity,” then the agnyagara ( Gobhila Grihya-sutra, I. 4. 5) or fire-
temple, inside or outside which baii oblations could be offered, is
such a temple. A god’s house is mentioned in the Grihya-sutras
along with a forest as the place where a student observing the
Mahdnamnivrato. i is to fast. When a Snataka is advised to go round
“god’s houses” (keeping his right side to them), if they are met with
on the way, temples seem to be meant. The truth is that though
temples probably existed, they played no important part in the
ritual of the sacrifice, the essence of which lay in an invocation of the
god to come to the place of the sacrifice and to partake of the food
and drink there kept ready for him.

If the hymns of praise, the music, and the dance in the ritual
can be understood as fitting reception for the god invited, other
features such as chariot-racing, dicing, archery, ribaldry, mimic
fights, etc., can be explained better as examples of the employment
of sympathetic magic than as part of the entertainment provided
for the gods. Such magic elements abound in th^ Vedic Sacrifice-

Offerings are made in the hope of favours expected from the
deity. The god accepts the offerings and becomes strengthened,
and the prosperity of the sacrificer is in proportion to the prospering
of the god. This theory of the sacrifice results in an exchange of
gifts, but the initiative in this exchange generally comes from the
worshipper rather than from the god. That is to say, there are
only a few thank-offerings (comparatively speaking) in the ritual
of this age or the earlier ones. The Asvalayana Grihya-sutra, (IV-
1. 1 ff.) prescribes the offering of a Soma or animal sacrifice, when
a person, who has established the three sacred fires, falls ill and then
leaves his residence and goes out of the village to bring pressure on
the three fires; he naturally takes these fires with himself and they
cure their worshipper, being eager themselves to go back to the
village. The view of Keith8 that vows of the kind, “Do this and I
will offer to thee,” are not common in the Vedic religion is not quite
correct, and is probably based on the absence of explicit statements-
But the offering of first-fruits, the sacrifice offered on the birth of
a son or on the acquisition of a thousand cattle, and the feast
to the dead at the marriage ceremony should perhaps be accounted
as thank-offerings. The subtle distinction that the keeping of a
promise (to offer a sacrifice), explicit or implicit, is not a thank-
offering is not legitimate in Vedic religion.

Gradually, however, the belief in the magic power of the
sacrifice grows to such an extent as to overshadow and ultimately

505

THE VEDIC AGE

eclipse the belief in the efficacy of the good-will of a deity. In the
organization and elaboration of sacrificial ritual, during this and
the Brahmana age, a particular mental outlook is noticeable, which
construes the sacrifice as a potent weapon of magic.

The magic power of the sacrifice could be employed to wash
away sin. To take but one example out of many, the Katyayana
Sraula-sutra (XIX. 5. 13) tells us that in the SautramanI offering,
a vessel containing a special preparation is made to drift away on
water with the sins of the performers. The sin is treated like a
disease, and the concept of this sin or evil is comprehensive enough
to include errors in the sacrifice, un-common occurrences in the
home or outside, and all unaccountable phenomena of Nature- The
Prayaschitta (or expiation) offerings, overlaid with magic practices
of a simple kind, and culminating in gifts to the priests, occupy a
very large space in the Sutras, both Srauta and Grihya.

The purifying power of a public confession and the usefulness
of a warning to otherp of the identity of the sinner may be elements
of belief in some strange and peculiar practices connected with
the removal of sin, such as the proclamation by the husband of his
sin against his wife, while begging for alms clothed in an ass’s skin
(see ante. p. 495). The murderer drinks out of the skull of the
murdered man, puts pn the skin of a dog or an ass, and lives on
alms, confessing his ; guilt before all. These practices are men¬
tioned in the Dharm.a^-sutras of Apastamba, Gautama, and Baudha-
yana, as also in the Pciraskara Grihya-siitra.

We need not discuss here at length the problem of the original
theory of the sacrifice — whether the magic art of perpetuating the
life of the herds and of vegetation, and even of man, was the essence
of the sacrifice, and whether the gift-theory was original or secon¬
dary. We may only note that when the Kausika-sutra (XIII. 1-6)
prescribes a magic rite in which portions of the bodies of some
animals and human beings, such as a lion, a tiger, a Kshatriya and
a Brahmacharin, are to be eaten to acquire certain qualities, not
totemism but the conception of sacramental communion is hinted
at. Similarly the idea of a common meal as a means of producing
harmony is clearly seen in the same Sutra (XIII. 6). The rule in
the Gj-ihya-sutras that nothing is to be eaten without making an
offering of a portion of it, is but an illustration of the conception of
communion. When the newly-married couple share food together
from an offering made by the husband, we see an instance of the
belief in the community produced by the sacrifice. But the theory
that the sacrifice is a communion of men. both among themselves
and with the god, whether through the direct rite of eating with
him or as a sacrament through eating a victim winch has become
impregnated in some measure with the deity, is not enunciated in
the formulae of the ritual.

506

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

The important role played by the fire in a sacrifice is too obvi¬
ous to be emphasized. The fire is the intermediary who conveys
the sacrifice to the gods and at the same time an effective means of
chasing away evil spirits. The all-important position of the fire in
the domestic ritual is evidenced by the fact that the fire is a witness
to, and sanctifier of, every domestic sacrament or rite, and receives
an oblation or prayer at every important stage of the ritual. The
cathartic function of the fire is to be seen in the burning of the grass
covering the altar at the end of the offering, lest, imbued with a
superhuman character, it should harm anyone by contact. The
omentum is burnt before being offered to other deities, evidently
with a view to purifying it and imparting to it an agreeable savour.

The fire-offering, however, was not the only type of offering.
Food for the dead was placed in pits according to an ancient and uni¬
versal custom- Gifts to water-deities were naturally thrown into
the waters and the offerings to Rudra and other demoniac figures
may be deposited in anthills or hung on trees or merely thrown .in
the air.

A comparison of the Srauta ritual with its three fires with the
Grihya ritual with its one fire suggests some interesting hypotheses
regarding the origin of this triad of fires. Certain ceremonies are
common to both the cults, such as the morning and evening Agni-
hotra and the new and full moon sacrifices, the difference being one
of elaboration only. Certain cereal and animal offerings are also
common to both the cults. Every householder had to keep one fire
in the house to carry on (mostly by himself) the domestic cult. The
kings, the nobles, and the rich people who could afford it, maintained
the three fires, employing a number of priests for the performance
of the Srauta cult. The family rites as such must be performed only
in the domestic fire, while the Soma sacrifice cannot be performed
without the triad of fires. The name Garhapatya (“of the house¬
holder*’) of one of the three Srauta fires suggests that the latter three
have developed out of the one domestic fire, because like the domes¬
tic fire the Garhapatya alone was continually kept, the other two
— the Ahavanlya and Dakshina — being derived from it when neces¬
sary- A man going on- a iourney takes formal leave of the Garha¬
patya first, which is another point of contact with the ceremonial
of the domestic fire. The Ahavanlya is the fire for the actual offer¬
ing and the Garhapatya for cooking the food to be offered to the
gods; the Dakshinagni, by its place in the south, was, in the begin¬
ning, probably intended to drive away the evil spirits, and later, to
receive the offerings intended for such spirits and for the fathers.

As a rule the sacrifice is for an individual, the Yaj^mana (“sacri-
ficer”), who provided the “sinews” of the sacrifice and the gifts for
the priests. There is only one exception to this rule, namely the
Sattras or “sacrificial sessions,” lasting for a year or longer, where

507

THE VEDIC AGE

the entire host of officiating priests are themselves the sacrificers,
it being taken for granted that all are Brahmanas. The merit of
the offering in these Sattras belongs to all the sacrificers, while any
error or evil done belongs to the perpetrator only.

AS Agni is the Purohita as well as Hotri priest in the Rigveda,
the Hotp was the most important priest in those days. Later on,
with the elaboration of the ritual, the Purohita, who was the
superintendent or overseer of the sacrifice, became a different priest
from the Hotri and called the Brahman, to whom the duty of superin¬
tending the whole sacrifice was naturally assigned- In the Srauta-
sutras of Sankhayana, Asvalayana, and Katyayana, the list of priests
is as follows: the Hotri, Potri, Neshtri, Agnldh, the Adhvaryu, the
Brahman and the Upavaktri (who appears in place of the Prasastri
in the otherwise identical list in the Rigveda) and the Achchhavaka
(who is later admitted to a share in the Soma). Another passage
of the Katyciyana &rauta-sutra (IX. 8. 8 ff.) gives another list in con¬
nection with the morning pressing of the Soma: the Hotri, two Adh-
varyus, two Prasastris, Brahman, Potri, Neshtri, and Agnldhra. The
second Adhvaryu becomes the Prati prasthatri and the second Pra¬
sastri becomes the Achchhavaka later. The Hotri originally com¬
bined the two functions — the performance of the offering and the re¬
citation of the accompanying mantra — but the functions were later
separated- In the ritual text-books of our age, two kinds of offer¬
ings are to be distinguished — the yajatayah in which there is one
reciter and performer, i.e- the Adhvaryu, so called because his ma¬
nual duties are the more important, and the juhotayah in which
there is the Hotri to recite and the Adhvaryu to perform the ma¬
nual acts. The Hotri recites a variety of verses but, in a large num¬
ber of offerings, only two types of verses, the Puronuvakya which
invites the god to be present at the offering intended for him, and the
Yajya which is recited just when the Adhvaryu is about to throw
the offering into the fire. He also recites the Nivids, which are in¬
serted in the hymns and are invitations to the god, with a bare enu¬
meration of his titles, to come and intoxicate himself with the Soma.
Although, in their present form, the Nivids are later than the
Rigveda, they are, in essence, the oldest form of the invitation to
the gods, from the point of view of the evolution of the liturgical
employment of rubrics in the ritual. The Adhvaryu is in charge
of the practical performance of the various manual acts of the ritual
and has to mutter a certain number of formulas, normally in prose,
to the accompaniment of the performance. He was assisted by the
Agnldh, whose main duties were concerned with the kindling of the
fire. The Hotri, the Adhvaryu with his assistant, the Agnldh, and
the Brahman, the general overseer, sufficed for the minor sacrifices
and the new. and full moon offerings. For the animal sacrifice, the

508

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

Hotri required an assistant named variously Upavaktj*i or Prasastri
or Maitravaruna, and for the Soma sacrifice, the services of the Potfi
and the Neshtri were requisitioned- The Brahmanachchhamsin,
in the ritual of our period, is but a Hotraka or an assistant of the
Hotri. The position of the Brahman enumerated in the list given
above becomes all-important in this age. He recites practically
nothing. He takes his seat by the chief fire-altar and is engaged
in general supervision. He makes good every flaw in the sacrifice
by his silent meditation. The Udgatpi, Prastotpi and the Prati-
hartri were Saman-singers, whose chants fall into two classes. One
is composed of those addressed to Soma Pavamana and based on
verses mainly drawn from the ninth Mandala of the Rigveda. The
other class consists of chants addressed to the ordinary gods to
whom libations are offered at the three pressings of the Soma.
The chant based on certain Rik-verses is followed up immediately
by the Hotri’s recitation of those very Rik-verses- This corres¬
pondence or parallelism is insisted upon in the ritual. For the
Soma sacrifice, as many as sixteen priests are prescribed, the Kau-
shitakins even prescribing a seventeenth.

In the ritual of this age, the choosing of the priests ( ritvig -
varana ) has become a well-developed formal ceremony. The sa-
crificer and the invitees both satisfy themselves as to the worthi¬
ness and qualifications of the other party, before extending and
accepting the invitation. An interesting feature of the formal
questions and answers used in the ceremony is the care taken by
the priests to see that they are not invited because other priests
who had been employed had struck work for some reason, leaving
the sacrifice unfinished. The sacrificer hats to be a member of one
of the three higher castes. His duties in this age are very light.
He repeats certain formulae, throws the offerings into the fire,
and observes certain restrictions along with his wife. Above all,
it is he who pays the Dakshina (fee), appropriate to each sacrifice-

We may now briefly refer to the relation of magic to this ritua¬
listic religion. Magic is not earlier than religion, though they are
inextricably blended in India. As has been noted already (ante;
Ch. XXII, p. 442) the Atharvaveda is the first book that makes use
of magic mixed up with theosophy, though it is priestly and not
purely popular magic. In the. Br~hmanas magic practically per¬
vades the whole ritual. The transition is best exemplified in the
changed contention of the sacrifice, which was originally an appeal
or prayers to the gods, but became the supreme power in the uni¬
verse controlling even the gods and granting all wishes- The poten¬
cies to be treated by magic are both personal or actually alive, and
impersonal, i.e. spirits. The means of magic are the words and
figures or representations of things which are used, either as substi¬
tutes for. or in addition to the articles connected with, the objects of

509

THE VED1C AGE

magical treatment. Special times, such as evening or night, and
places such as grave-yards or cross-roads are prescribed. The chief
source-books for our information regarding magic are the Atharva-
veda and the Kausika-sutra belonging to that Veda, the Samavidh'na
Brahmav-a, the Rigvidhdna, the Parisishtas of fhe Atharvaveda and
other minor texts.

The averting of evil influences is accomplished by propitiation,
or banishment by any means fair or foul, such as the use of water for
washing them off, the use of noise, the holding of a staff, and the ges¬
ture of shaking off and transfer of the evil to someone else. The use
of amulets is recognized as an excellent means of protection. Mime¬
tic magic, the magic spell, and even the magic sacrifice are all known
and prescribed in the Sutra texts- The theory of divination is known,
and a variety of means is employed. Omens are drawn from the
movements of animals. The interpretation of dreams is also an
interesting feature of Vedic magic, and experts in the interpreta¬
tion of omens are known. The ordeal is nothing more than an
application of the theory of divination. Although not many cha¬
racteristic and essential practices of the later Yoga philosophy are
traced in ritual literature, the fivefold divisions of breaths or vital
airs is known. Perspiration is induced in the Diksha ceremony,
as a means of awakening the ecstatic state, but the various sitting
postures familiar to the later Yoga are. not known.

It would appear from the above discussion that religious
thought during the period under review does not, on the whole,
present a very consistent picture because of the contradictory
legacies it was heir to.- The polytheism of the Samhitas had narrow¬
ed down to Upanishadic monism- At one end was sacrifice and
ritual, at the other was the abstruse and profound philosophy of
the Upanishads. The conception of rebirth was inextricably
mixed up with ideas of a happy heaven and a horrid hell. Spiri¬
tual barrenness of the people at large was the natural result. No
wonder* formulae, observances, and sacraments became the order
of the day!

But even though only sacrificial rites and duties are found
systematized in the Kalva-sutras, ethical purity was not neelected
and indeed was regarded as the sine qua non in the path of Kar-
man. Inner ethical virtues such as purity, perseverance, for¬
bearance, and kindness to all were prescribed along with religious
rites by the Gautama Dharma-sutra (VTII. 20-23) for example,
and are even ranked higher than mere ritualistic ceremonial. Self-
restraint is the mother of all virtues and is to be ceaselessly culti¬
vated in this life, since the present life is but a preparation for the
real, happy life after death. Here we find the doctrine “Man is the
architect of his own fate,” in the truest sense of the phrase- This
Kannan discipline does nbt rule out desire as the motive power of

510

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

action. Only it is focussed on the acquisition of happiness in a
future life. Dharma (religious merit), Artha (the acquisition of
wealth), and Kama (the enjoyment of the present life) are the Ptrnt-
shdrthas (“human values” or the “aims of man”). Worldly aims and
efforts to secure them are not scorned but harnessed to the fulfilment
of higher aims in the next life. Dharma bears fruit in a future life
and is extra-empirical in its technical aspect, in the sense that it can
be ascertained only from a divine or traditional code.

1. For a general account of the Upanishads, and particularly their chronological
classification cf. Ch. XXIV.

2. The Philosophy of the Upanishads, p. 39.

3. Kaushitaki U panishad, IV, and Brihaddranyaka Up., II. 1.

4. Cf. Ch. XXIV, pp. 470. fl.

5. Some quotations from the Upanishads on this subject are given in Ch. XXIV,
p. 470.

6. Cf. Deussen, Op. rit., pp. 396 ff.

6a. For an account of these rituals, cf. Ch. XXIV, pp. 474 fl.

7. RPVU , p. 258.

8. Op. cit ., p. 260. fn. 5.

511

CHAPTER XXVII

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

I. SOCIAL CONDITIONS

1. Family Life

THE family life was the framework on which society rested, and the
Grihya-sutras that deal with the domestic sacrifices and other duties
performed by the householders supply valuable information re¬
garding it-

As in the age of the Later Sarhhitas and Brahmanas, the family
was normally a joint one with the most senior married member or
householder as the head. But partitions often took place as the
rules in the Grihya-sutras regarding the kindling of the domestic
fire show. Among the occasions mentioned there for fresh formal
kindling are the division of the inheritance or the death of the head
of the family, in which case the eldest son kindled it. Seniority in
age constituted an important claim for respect in the family. The
directions about the V aisvadeva-bali — one of the daily domestic
sacrifices — that it need not be repeated every time the food was
cooked, and that it may be offered from the kitchen of the chief
householder or from that of the member whose food was ready
first, show that the joint family was big enough to necessitate cook¬
ing at different kitchens. The fact that a rite is prescribed for one
desirous of a large family shows that the people liked to have many
children. Male additions to the family were preferred to female
ones. An interesting formality in the family life of these days is
the manner in which the father greeted the children in the house
after his return from a journey, the mode of greeting being diffe¬
rent for male and female children- The high sense of responsibi¬
lity and duty expected to be shown by the head of the family to¬
wards the other members is seen in the Grihya-sutra rule that he
was to take his food only after feeding all the children and old per¬
sons, as well as any female residing under his protection, and any
pregnant lady in the house. The respect and authority that the
father commanded is shown by the fact that the Dharma-sutras,
describing ir* detail the acts of courtesy which a son owed to his
father, mention that he is allowed to eat the remnants of his father’s
food. The father on his part is expected to be kind. The heartless
conduct of the father in the story of Sunahsepa is condemned in the
Sankhayana Srauta-sutra. The spiritual succession from father to
son is almost taken for granted by the Upanishads. The gradation
of the relations in a familv is given, as it were, in the Chhandogya

512

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

Upanishad (VII. 15. 2), where father, mother, brother, and sister are
mentioned in succession.

2. The Caste-System

The period of the Sutras witnessed the gradual hardening of
the caste-system in general and the deterioration of the position of
the Vaisyas and Sudras in particular. We can trace this process step
by step if we follow the evidence of the three broadly distinguishable
chronological strata in the Sutras, namely (1) the $rauta-sutras
with which may be conveniently considered the evidence of the
Sutras of Panini also; (2) the Grihya-sutras; and (3) the Dharma-
sutras.

From the evidence of the Sdnkhayana Srauta-sutra which re¬
cords that the Vajapeya sacrifice — a sacrifice of which the chariot
race forms an integral part — was at one time a sacrifice for a Vaisya
as well as a priest or king, it is clear that the position of the Vaiiya
is deteriorating now and Caste distinctions are hardening. The
power of the Brahmanas is growing. They are exempt from taxes
and could, on occasions, be kings, but Kshatriyas could hardly be¬
come priests. The prestige and influence of the Purohita in the
state are considerable. Panini’s division of the Sudras into nirava-
sita and aniravasita shows that certain degraded 6udras with un¬
clean habits like the Nishadas were forced to reside outside the
limits of the village or town. The Sudra was denied the privilege
of samnyasa (“renunciation”). The rashpra or nation consisted
only of the three higher Castes, the Sudras being excluded from it.
Although some Caste-sections were degraded, it is not quite certain
if the Mixed Castes had arisen in this period.

The Grihya-sutras clearly differentiate the status, occupations,
obligations, duties, and privileges of the four principal Castes in
matters both spiritual and secular. A different age is prescribed
for each of the three higher castes for the various sacraments, such
as the ChutfAkarana (the tonsure ceremony of the child) and the
Upanayana (“initiation”) ceremonies. One is not sure whether these
different prescriptions were adjustments necessitated originally by the
differences of mental calibre* and moral fibre in the various caste-
groups (for the Upanayana ceremony, for example). Different
seasons are also prescribed for the different castes. The differentia¬
tion extends even to such minor things as the girdle, the staff, the
skin, and the garment to be used by the student, and the Upanayana
mantra to be recited by him. The story is the same with regard to
most of the sacraments such as the naming of the child, the building
of a house, marriage, and even such unessential matters as anule-
pana or salving which is part of the sndna ceremony signifying
the completion of the period of studentship. Even in the giving

513

THE VEDIC AGE

of gifts, the Caste determined the nature of the gift as much as
the financial condition of the giver.

The Brahmanas in particular have now become a well-orga¬
nized priesthood. Among their special duties and privileges are
the study and the teaching of the Veda, sacrificing for themselves
and others, and the receiving of gifts. The feasting of learned
Brahmanas to invoke their blessings is, without exception, laid
down as the concluding feature of every sacrament. That this
feasting was originally more a disinterested homage to the noble
qualities of the spiritually-minded Brahmanas, than a sop to a
worldly-minded priesthood, is clear from the rules that the invitee
must not be a relative and that the invitations must not be arranged
in a bargaining spirit. The general trend of the Grihya-sutra pres¬
criptions is that if the privileges of a Brahmana were many, he de¬
served them, and inspired respect and confidence as much by his
high ethical standard as by the responsibilities and duties he owed
to the other classes.

The Rajanya or Kshatriya class, among the rest, came closest
to the Brahmana class in power and prestige, the two together be¬
ing as it were the moral and material props of society. It was but
natural that the cultural and social status of the Vaisyas should
gradually deteriorate, because by virtue of their occupations,
namely agriculture, cattle-breeding and commerce, they came into
close contact with the Sudras. But the popular notion that the
Vaisya class had very little in common with the two higher classes
in religious and sacramental matters is erroneous, though it has
crystallized in the Bhdgavadgitd verse (IX. 32) which puts women,
Vaisyas, and Sudras in one and the same category of people to
whom eligibility to absolution through Bhakti (devotion) is conced¬
ed by the Lord* According to the Grihya-sutras, when the domes¬
tic fire is to be kindled for the first time, it may be borrowed from
the house of a Vaisya rich in cattle, or from the house of one who
performs many sacrifices, be he a Brahmana, a Kshatriya or a Vaisya.

When we come to the Sudras, however, we find that a wide gulf
separates them from the three higher classes. The mixture of non-
Aryan elements was probably responsible for this, as the word Arya
has a racial as well as moral connotation in this period and meant
practically ‘‘reborn,” that is, a member of the three higher castes.
The privilege of performing the sanctifying sacraments (excepting
that of marriage which took place in his case without the recitation
of mantras) is denied to a &udra, and this was at once the cause and
effect of his low position. But the Sudra was certainly not a pariah .
He enjoyed the status of a regular member of the household, and
as a servant he was employed in all departments of the household
not excluding the kitchen.

514

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

If the Upanayana ceremony was neglected lor three genera¬
tions in a family — whether Brahmana, Ksnatriya or Vaisya — tne
members became outcastes whose very signt was inauspicious and
who probably lived outside the village or town. But the Vrdtya-
stoma ceremony of expiation and penance could secure for the
outcastes readmission into the Aryan i'oid. Thus the horrors of an
age-long and irremediable outcasting were unknown in the days
of the Grihya-sutras.

The Dharma-sutras show that caste distinction has outstrip¬
ped its proper limits and has even invaded the field of civil and
criminal law {ante, pp. 495 ff.). The legal rate of interest and
fines were graded according to the castes and a Sudra received
capital punishment for a crime like homicide for which lighter
punishments were awarded to members of the higher castes. The
contact of the three Aryan castes with the Sudras through inter¬
marriage was bound to lead to the rise of mixed castes, and the diffe¬
rence of occupations must have resulted sooner or later in an in¬
crease in the number of such mixed castes. Whether the mixed
castes had arisen as early as the period of the later Sarhhitas is not
certain. The enumeration of different classes or categories of vic¬
tims in the Purushamedha chapters of the White ' Yajurveda, for
example, may refer to different professions rather than castes.
Similarly, for the period of the Srauta-sutras and Panini, all that
can be said is that certain caste-sections were degraded, but for the
period of the Grihya- and Dharma-sutras the existence of Mixed
Castes cannot be doubted. The anuloma type of marriage, sanctioned
by the Sutras, whereby a member of higher caste could take unto him¬
self a wife or wives of the lower castes, in addition to one of his own
caste, must necessarily lead to new caste-divisions, although in the be¬
ginning, for some time, the rule that the progeny of such anuloma
unions belonged to the vamxa or caste of the father arrested such a ten¬
dency. The . Dharma-sutras give the names of the mixed castes that
arose not only as a result of the permitted anuloma marriages, but
also as a result of the prohibited pratiloma marriages (where the hus¬
band’s caste was lower than that of the wife) which apparently
took place not rarely. The Vasishtha Dharma-sutra (XVIII. 1),
for example, tells us that the offspring of a Sudra male and a Brah¬
mana female becomes a Chanddla who was to be treated as an out-
caste. The sacramental direction of the Grihya-sutras raise an
interesting problem in this connection by mentioning rarely, if
ever, the mixed castes. The rules seem to be framed only for the
Brahmana, the Kshatriya, and the Vaisya* One can understand that
the progeny of pratiloma marriages should be excluded from the
sacraments, but if anuloma progeny was also excluded, then a very
large number of people would be denied the spiritual benefit of the
sacraments. Apparently the Apastamba Grihya-sutra is of this

515

THE VEDIC AGE

view when it omits all reference to the rathakara (the offspring
of an anuloma marriage) in its Upanayana rules. The Baudhdyana
Gftihya-sutra, which includes the rathakara in the initiation rules,
seems to reflect the earlier view. The following stages may, there¬
fore, be distinguished in the treatment of the mixed castes in the
Sutra period from the sacramental point of view- In the earliest,
perhaps the progeny of anuloma marriages was absorbed in the
father’s varna and thus became eligible for the sacraments as a
Brahmana, Kshatriya, or Vaisya. The next stage was probably
reached when some important intermediate castes, like that of the
rathakara, received a separate treatment in the sacramental rules.
The third stage is reflected in the exclusion of the rathakara and
other mixed castes from the sacraments.

It has to be recognized, however, that the caste-system even
in this period had not become as wooden and exclusive as it is now.
Inter-dining and inter-marriage (in the anuloma form) were not
prohibited, though it is difficult to decide whether and how far
change of caste was permissible- Even outcastes who had perform¬
ed the prescribed penances could be readmitted to the Aryan fold.
Nor were the castes so strictly separated or ramified into so many
caste-divisions as obtain today. We see in the Dharma-sutras the
beginning of the formal theory of defilement resulting in the taboo
of all contact on the part of a pure man of the upper castes with an
impure man, namely, a member of the lowest caste. For example,
we see in the Dharma-sutras of Vasishtha, Gautama, and Apas-
tamba the idea of impurity communicated by the touch or contact of
inferior castes, which is reflected in the purification rendered neces¬
sary in the case of contact with a Sudra and implied in the prohibi¬
tion of eating in company with men of lower castes.

3. Marriage and the Position of Women

, #

As already mentioned above, the anuloma system of marriage
(i.e. between a male of a higher and a female of a lower caste) pre¬
vailed in this period. The low status of the Sudra wife is reflected
in the directions given in the Srauta-sutras that a sacrificer is al¬
lowed to cohabit with a savarna wife (of the same caste as his own)
but not with the Sudra one- The rules of Panini regarding Abhi-
vddana (salutation as a mark of respect to elderly persons in the
house) show that the presence of wives of the lower castes (espe¬
cially the Sudra one) in a family and the consequent inevitable
association of the higher caste ladies with them in the house has
brought down the general level of womanly culture and led to a
deterioration in their social status.

Among the Grihya-sutras, only the Asvalayana Grihya-sutra,
and most of the Dharma-sutras, mention eight forms of marriage.
Of these, two call for an explanation, viz., the paisdcha, in which

516

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

a girl is carried off while her relatives are sleeping or are indifferent,
and the rakshasa in which the girl is abducted after a fight with
her relatives. Probably the names of these marriage forms are
derived from the names of the tribes among whom those peculiar
marriage customs prevailed. That such immoral practices should
be dignified as “forms” of marriage may be due to the desire not
to deny some kind of a social status to the unfortunate girl-victim
and her progeny, once the regrettable occurrence had taken place
and was beyond recall. The Grihya-sutras give detailed rules
regarding the proper seasons for marriage* the qualifications of the
bride and the bridegroom, and the various stages of the marriage
ceremony. The bride should not be a sapin<}a relation of the bride¬
groom’s mother nor belong to the same gotra as his own. The
bridegroom should be a young man with intelligence, character and
good health, and should, above all, come from a good family.

The various stages of the marriage ceremony are as follows:
(1) the wooers formally go to the girl’s house; (2) when the bride’s
father has given his formal consent, the bridegroom performs a
sacrifice; (3) early in the morning of th6 first day of the marriage
celebrations the bride is bathed; (4) a sacrifice is offered then by the
high priest of the bride’s family and a dance of four or eight women
(not widows) takes place as part of the. Indrdni karman ; (5) the
bridegroom then goes to the girl’s house and makes the gift of a
garment, unguent, and mirror to the bride who has been bathed as
mentioned already; (6) the Kanya-praddna or the formal giving
away of the bride now takes place, followed (7) by the Pani-grahana,
the clasping of the bride’s right hand by the bridegroom with his
own right hand; (8) the treading on stone; (9) the leading of the
bride round the fire by the bridegroom; (10) the sacrifice of fried
grains; and, the most important ceremony of all, (11) the saptapadl
(the couple walking seven steps together as symbolic of their lifelong
concord) follow in due order. Finally the bride is taken in all
ceremony to her new house. It must be taken for granted that the
offering of oblations to the fire and the feasting of Brahmanas take
place at every important stage in this as in other ceremonies.

As regards the age of the bride, the prescriptions of the Grihya-
sutras differ. The older texts which describe the consummation of
marriage as the Chaturthi-karman, or the ceremony of the fourth
(night immediately after the marriage), evidently imply that the
bride is of mature age. The more modern Grihya-sutras and the
Dharma-sutras, however, lay down the rule that the bride should
be nagnikd (lit., naked), i.e. one who has not yet had her monthly
period or one whose breasts are not yet developed- Evidently the
only reasonable explanation of the incongruity is that the earlier
practice is reflected in the older texts.

The prevalence of polygamy is implied in the anuloma system

517

V A —33

THE VEDIC AGE

of marriage. The elements of bride-price ( sulka ) are discernible
in the Asura form of marriage, where the father of the bride is
gladdened with money, and there are hints of a dowry in the
Brahma and Daiva forms of marriage where the father gives away
the daughter after decking her with ornaments.

The prayers and rites of the ceremony clearly indicate that
matrimony was a holy bond, and not a contract, and that progeny
(especially male progeny) was the goal of marriage. As in the pre¬
ceding age, the birth of a daughter was not welcome, and this fact
in a way reflects the comparatively inferior position of women in
society. All the sacraments, except that of marriage, are performed
in the case of women without the recitation of Vedic mantras , and
the Upanayana is not performed for them.

The woman, however, held an honoured position in the house¬
hold. That a life of merriment, song, and dance was not denied
to her is seen from certain sacraments in which women are asked
to dance and sing. The presence of women who are not widows
is particularly desired in marriage and other sacraments. The
Gobhila Grihya-sutra allows the option that the wife may offer
the morning and evening oblations in place of the husband, because
“the wife is as it were the house.” That there were wives who de¬
sired to keep their husbands under control is clear from a rite pres¬
cribed for the purpose.

Since the Dharma-sutras treat of the widow’s right in 'the pro¬
perty of her husband, the possibility of the general prevalence of
sati is ruled out. The Vasishtha Dharma-sutra speaks of the mar¬
riage of widows under certain circumstances, and the son of a re¬
married woman is one of the twelve sons enumerated in the Dharma-
sutras. So the remarriage of widows was not as strictly prohibited
as it appears to have been in later days. In the marriage rules of
the Dharma-sutras local customs were recognized. The Baudhdyana
Dharma-siltra , for example, states that marrying the daughter of a
maternal uncle is a southern custom. The custom of nxyoga
(levirate) or appointment of widows is recognized by the Dharma-
sutras which give detailed rules laying down the circumstances
under which it is permissible- Some of the later Dharma-sutras,
however, condemn it.

On the whole the Dharma-sutras take a more lenient attitude
towards women than the Smritis of a later age or the customs and
practices of the present day. Baudhayana (II. 2. 4. 6. ) quotes the
injunction, which also occurs in the Manu-smriti (IX. 81), that “a
barren wife should be abandoned in the tenth year, one who bears
daughters (only) in the twelfth, one whose children (all) die in the
fifteenth, but she who is quarrelsome without delay.” But Apas-
tamba (II- 5. 11. 12-14) forbids the husband to take a second wife
unless the first wife has no male child or neglected her religious

51S

Social and economic conditions

duties. According to Vasishtha (XXVIII. 2-3) a wife shall not be
abandoned “even though she be quarrelsome or tainted by sin,
or have left the house, or have suffered criminal force, or have fallen
into the hands of thieves.” Even a wife, who has committed adul¬
tery, becomes pure and is taken back by her husband after she has
done proper penances (Vas. Dh . S. XXI. 8-10). As noted above
(Ch. XXV, p. 495), Apastamba (1. 10. 28. 19) imposes severe penalties
on a husband “who unjustly forsakes his wife.” On the other
hand “a wife who forsakes her husband has only to perform a
penance” (Ap. Dh. S . I. 10. 28. 20). This is a singular instance
where the law or custom accords more favourable treatment to the
wife than to the husband. Again, “a father who has committed a
crime causing loss of caste must be cast off, but a mother does not
become an outcast for her son.” Similarly, the male offspring of
outcasts are (also) outcasts, but not the females, who may be mar¬
ried, even without a dowry, by a twice-born (Vos. Dh. S. XIII.
47. 51-53). It is interesting to note that according to Baudhayana
(IV. 1. 15-16) “if a damsel has been abducted by force and has not
been wedded with sacred texts, she is to be treated like a maiden and
may be lawfully married to another man.” Lastly, there is a
general agreement among the Dharma-sutras that a grown-up
maiden, if not given in marriage in proper time by her father, may
choose her own husband after waiting for three years (or months).
At the same time the general principle is already enumerated in
the later texts that “the males are the masters of women.” “Their
father protects them in childhood, their husbands protect them
in youth, and their sons protect them in age; a woman is never
fit for independence” (Vas. Dh. S. V. 1-2. Bait. Dh» S. II. 2.3.44-45) .

4 . Education

The Upanishads are a living testimony to the high intellectual
attainments of the age. The stories of Svetaketu Aruneya and
Satyakama Jabala in the Chh&ndogya ZJpanishad and the well-
known passage in the Taittirlya Upanishad (I. 11) containing in¬
struction (anvJGsana) given to the student at the end of his studies,
show that the educational system maintained the high standard
and lofty ideals of the preceding age (ante, p. 474). Some special
features of the educational system are prominently brought out in
the Upanishads. We find, for instance, that the highest position in
society is willingly yielded to the intellectual aristocracy. Kshat-
riya kings like Janaka were lamous for their learning, and respect
was paid to them by all including the Brahmanas. There are many
instances on record where even the Brahmanas learned the sacred
knowledge, particularly philosophy, from the Kshatriyas. The story
of Aruni, in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad , shows that even old
men became pupils. But the most pleasing feature is the frequent

519

THE VEDIC AGE

reference to women teachers, many of whom possessed the highest
spiritual knowledge. The famous dialogues between Yajnavalkya
and his wife Maitreyi (Bfih. IV- 5) and GargI Vachaknavi {Bfik.
III. 6. 8) show the height of intellectual and spiritual attainments
to which a woman could rise. The stories of these noble and gifted
ladies stand in sad contrast to the later age when even the study of
Vedic literature was forbidden to women under the most severe
penalty.

The Upanishads contain several lists of subjects of study, and
these give us a good idea of the wide range of knowledge in those
days. One such list1 mentions not only Veda, Itihasa, Puraua, and
spiritual knowledge (Brahma-vidya) , but also grammar, mathema¬
tics (Rost), chronology ( Nidhi ), dialectics ( Vakovakya ), ethics
( Ekayana ), astronomy, military science, science of snakes, and know¬
ledge of portents (Daiva). There are a few more branches of know¬
ledge mentioned in this list whose exact scope or nature cannot be
defined, such as Pitrya (science relating to the manes), Deva-vidya
(etymological interpretation of divine names or knowledge of gods),
Bhuta-vidya (demonology or science of elements), and Devajana-
vidyd (dancing and music or mythology). It is extremely unfortunate
that we have no texts preserved regarding many of these subjects.
But the list shows how a very comprehensive view of education was
developed at the close of the Vedic Age. It also demonstrates that
the six subjects comprised in the Vedangas, to which a detailed re¬
ference has been made above . (Ch. XXIV, p. 477), formed only a
small portion of the curriculum of study, and not the whole of it, as
is popularly believed.

The Sutras give us a detailed account of student-life, which
commenced with the upanayana (initiation). This ceremony, the
essential features of which have been described above (Ch. XXIII.
p. 459), in all probability originally signified the formal reception of
an adult youth as a regular member of the (Aryan) tribe, a custom
that prevailed among all primitive people. But, as described in the
Grihya-sutras, it is dominated by priestly interest, and this is not
unnatural, as in this age, education was entirely under the control
of the priestly class, and upanayana meant also the formal initiation
into an educational career of boys of the three higher castes, at the
ages respectively of eight, eleven, and twelve. The youth to be
initiated wears a new upper garment or skin (which is to be that
of a deer, goat or cow, according to his caste), a lower garment
of a suitable colour, a staff of the prescribed length, and a threefold
twisted girdle. According to some Grihya-sutras he wears a sacri¬
ficial cord also. This equipment constitutes the educational uni¬
form, as it were, of the youth.

Moral training formed the very pivot and the backbone of the
educational system, and development of character was the one ideal

520

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

that dominated it. The numerous vows and observances oblige
tory on the pupil (Brahmaehdrin) after the upanayana, which was
a kind of initiation by the Guru (teacher) into a new spiritual life,
entailed on him the most rigorous discipline for a prescribed period,
during which he was to live religiously as a student in the house of
his teacher. His daily routine is begging alms, collecting fuel,
looking after the sacrificial fires, tending the house (of the teacher),
learning, and practising austerities. The maintenance of chastity
was obligatory on the Brahmaehdrin^ Thus the ancient universities
were residential, and a more perfect tutorial system was followed
than is possible in any modern university, the pupil being under the
observation of the Guru all the twenty-four hours. The daily
begging of alms, on which the student lived, was for the inculcation
of “plain living and high thinking,” and had probably little or noth¬
ing to do with the financial status of the pupil or of the teacher with
whom he resided. Attention may be drawn in this connection to
some interesting practical and thoroughly human aspects of the
educational system of this age as reflected in the Taitiimya TJpani-
shad (I. 11.). After the admonition “let the dchdrya, the parents,
etc., be your gods” comes the frank admission that the preceptors,
as human beings, may have their weaknesses, but it is not these but
their good points that have to be copied by the pupils. A very
practical streak is revealed in the advice to the pupil to continue the
family-line by marrying and begetting children, to attend to kusala
or well-being (in a wordly sense), to make gifts and practise charity,
for fear (bhaya) of public opinion or out of shame ( hriyd )t if not
out of the generosity of the heart.

The intellectual side of education was developed through the
numerous subjects of study referred to above- Naturally more
particulars are given of the study of the Vedic literature. It cen¬
tred round the preservation by means of recitation, of the Yeda
of the particular gdkhd to which the pupil and the teacher belonged,
or of as many Vedas as could be mastered by the student. Memory
was a specially valued faculty and was most assiduously cultivated.
The period of studentship is normally fixed at twelve years or until
the pupil has mastered the Veda, though it may extend to much
longer periods such as twenty-four or twenty-eight years, nay even
for life in exceptional cases. The extent of the daily lesson is des¬
cribed, among others, in the Grihya-sutras of the Rigveda . The
pupil is to recite either the hymns belonging to each Rishi or each
Anuvaka of the short hymns ( Kshudra-Suktas ) or an Amivaka or
one verse in the beginning of each hymn. This option was a very
useful and practical concession which enabled students, who did
not aspire to become Vedic scholars, and (probably and chiefly)
students of the Kshatriya and Vaisya castes, to fulfil nominally their
duty of learning the Veda. The Grihya-sutras proceed on the as-

521

THE VEDIC AGE

sumption that all the three higher castes are to go through a period
of studentship, but more often than not, the Kshatriya studied the
art of war and the elementary knowledge of administrative func¬
tions. There are, however, traditions regarding the Kshatriyas
studying philosophy and having taken a prominent part in the
evolution of the doctrine of Brahman. As for the Vaisyas it is
unlikely that they were engaged in the intellectual life of the day,
and at least in their case, this very practical device of a nominal
fulfilment of the duty of Vedie study was very useful. A student
who knew the first and last hymns of a Rishi pr of an Anuvaka was.
by a sort of fiction, considered to have known the whole portion
belonging to the Rishi or the whole Anuvaka.

The rite prescribed for victory in debates shows that literary
debates were very common and were held in special assembly-halls
which used to be crowded.

The Vedic term commenced with the upakarman (inauguration)

ceremony which was performed some time during the bright fort¬
night of the month of Sravana (July-August) when the herbs appear,
or during the rainy season. The Vedic study then went on for
four months and a half or five months and a half or six months, at
the end of which came the utsarga (discharge) ceremony which
formally closed the first term in the month of Pausha or Magha.
After this there is a break of study for five or six months (this ap¬
pears to be the long vacation of the ancient University), or accord¬
ing to the Dharma-sutras, the Vedas may be studied during the
bright fortnight and the Vedahgas during the dark one. This
almost year-long recitation was subject to numerous interruptions
( anadhydyas ) or “no-lesson” intervals, the special occasions for
which were births and deaths, portents, miracles, lightning, thunder,
rains or eclipses, and the normal occasions for which were the 14th
and 15th days of the two fortnights, the last days of the seasons, etc.
The large number of these interruptions is not surprising, as the
ancients held that it was better that there was no recitation at all,
rather than that a slight error should creep into it, get repeated in
the transmission by word of mouth, and later become an integral
part of the Veda itself. The preservation of the Vedic literature
by a meticulously correct and scientific method of recitation, down
to the minutest part of it, viz., the syllable, was their chief concern,
because in the beginning, V edic texts were not available in a written
form and even later were not usually reduced to writing. Impure
places were to be avoided for the recitation. Personal purity and
good health were also essential conditions for study. After the
completion of the whole course came the ceremony of samavartana
after which the student, now called a snataka (i.e. one who has taken
a ceremonial hath marking the termination of his studentship), can

522

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

either enter upon the married state and found a household or (in
exceptional cases) remain celibate, his principal duty being now the
management and support of his family from which he was so long
absent.

The samavartana , however, does not spell the end either of
Vedic study or of moral training. The snataka can carry on both
either in the role of a teacher or student. The svadhydya or daily
recitation of Vedic texts is part of the fivefold daily routine, con¬
sisting of the performance of the five mahayajnas (Great Sacrifices),
of the married snataka in the capacity of a householder, and com¬
prises portions not only of the Samhitas, Brahmanas, and Kalpa-
sutras, blit also of the Gathas, Narasamsls, Itihiasas, and Puranas -
In the Dharma-sutras of Vasishtha and Apastamba there is an in¬
hibition against learning a language spoken by barbarians, and the
study of sabda-sastra (philology) is condemned in the Vasishtha
Dharma-sutra (X. 20).

The teacher is the central figure, the very pivot of the educa¬
tional system with which the State had very little to do. He intro¬
duces (upa-ni) the boy to studentship, and is in sole charge of his
moral, mental, and physical upbringing. The teacher, who was a
snataka , provided in his own house for the boarding and lodging of
a certain number of pupils, and received from them, in return,
daily service during the period of studentship and, at the end of it,
gifts voluntarily given by the pupils. Though, thus in a measure,
the teacher was compensated for his labours, the relationship bet¬
ween the teacher and pupil was in no sense mercenary, but sacred
and almost spiritual. Very often the father himself was the
teacher, and the student received education at home. The teacher
was the friend, philosopher, and guide to the pupil. The initiation
of the boy into studentship by the teacher marked, as it were, his
second birth (in a spiritual sense), whence the term dvija (“twice-
born”) was applied to the three higher castes, who only had the pri¬
vilege of upanayana •* The pupil was to show the very greatest res¬
pect to the teacher. It was not, however, merely a one-sided disci¬
pline. The teacher also observed certain vows and rules while he
taught.

That physical training was an integral part of the educational
scheme is clear from the unmistakable trend of the numerous pra¬
yers for the grant of vigour and strength that form part of the
upanayana ceremonial. The begging of alms, morning and evening,
the gathering of fuel-sticks, and the manual labour involved in the
worship and tending of the fire made for sufficient hard work or ex¬
ercise for the student. The recitation of the vedic texts was a strenu¬
ous vocal exercise. But the praridyama or control of breath, which
formed part of the daily sandhya (morning, noon, and evening pra¬
yers) adoration, was not only an ideal exercise for the lungs, but also

523

THE VEDIC AGE

one that penetrated to all parts of the body as any careful student of
YogiC exercises can testify. Lastly must be noted the fact that the
dantjia-pradana (handing the staff to the initiated boy) was a regular
ceremony, and the staff was certainly an excellent weapon for self-
defence.

5* Manners and Morals , Habits and Customs

Hospitality not only continues to be recognized as a binding
social obligation, but is raised to the status of a religious duty, for
an offering of food to the guest attains to the rank of a sacrifice as
one of the five daily mahayajnas — the atithi-yajna or “guest sacri¬
fice”— which the householder must perform. There is a formal de¬
finition of an atithi or guest, and an authorized list of important
guests, which includes a teacher, a Ritvik (an officiating priest), a
king, a snataka, a father-in-law, and a son-in-law. Though a guest
could arrive at any time it was understood that a wedding and a
sacrifice were the recognized (or official) occasions for their recep¬
tion in the grand style. A seat (or a special enclosure, if the guest
is persona grata), water for washing the feet, argha water, water
for sipping, and the madhuparka (a mixture of curds, honey, and
ghi ) are first offered to him. After this, food containing meat is to
be offered to him, and if the occasion is a special one (such as a sa¬
crifice or a wedding), a cow is offered and it is for the guest to have
it killed for him or to set it free.

The Grihya-sutras, while prescribing the code of conduct for a
snataka, give us a fairly detailed account of the manners and eti¬
quette of those days. Only a few rules can be cited here. A scent¬
less wreath is not to be worn. Girls must not be subjected to ban¬
ter or ridicule* Walking or bathing naked or running without suf¬
ficient justification are prohibited. There is a taboo on certain words
in the language of a snataka ensuring linguistic purity.

Great insistence is laid on moral purity. Self-restraint is the
keynote of the ethical code prescribed for the householder. Hu¬
man nature, of course, is the same in all times and climes, and warn¬
ings against the faithlessness of companions, pupils, servants, and
wives are conveyed indirectly through rites prescribed for their pre¬
vention. Purity of mind is as much inculcated as purity of body.
Abstinence of all kinds and respect for elders and for self are
valued qualities. *

The ancient Indians did not cultivate cleanliness as a mere
habit. They had developed a passion for it* The sipping of water
(dchamana) and washing of feet are insisted on everywhere as a pre¬
liminary to any, even the most trivial, ritual act. The pavitrakas
(strainers or purifiers made of grass), the use of which is so mark¬
ed in the ritual, are symbols of purity and cleanliness. If a bird
befouled the person of a snataka , or an unknown drop of water fell

524

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

on him, mantras were to be recited by way of expiation. The habit
of early rising is also well cultivated.

Life in this age was so thoroughly ritualized that it is difficult
to distinguish habits from sacraments. Thus the many rites pres¬
cribed for the safety and good health of the mother and child, before
and after delivery, may be looked upon as records of remarkable
usages also. The rite of Simantonnayana or parting of the hair in
the middle in the fourth or seventh month of pregnancy is an inte¬
resting custom. The child is given two names of which one is to
be kept secret. The occasional counting of years, not from birth
but from conception, is a practice that has a parallel in the Buddhist
ordinances. The Grihya- and the Dharma-sutras recognize the force
of local custom, and allow it to modify or sometimes even override
some of their rules. The father’s greeting to the son, when either
of the two has returned from a journey, which takes the form of
smelling or kissing him on the head, is also a noteworthy custom.

6. Amusements and Entertainments

As in the preceding age, dancing, and both vocal and instru¬
mental music, were well cultivated. In the Simantonnayana cere¬
mony mentioned above, the wife is asked to sing a song merrily,
and in the marriage ceremony the bridegroom sings a gdthd after
the treading on the stone by the bride. The vogue of the musical
recitations of the Sdmaveda is responsible for the rule in the Gobkila
Grihya-sutra that the Vdmadevya gdna may be sung, by way of a
general expiation, at the end of every ceremony. The lute players
are asked to play the lute in the ceremony of “parting the hair,”

and four or eight women (not widows) perform a dance in the

_ %

marriage ceremony. The restrictive rule that a sndtaka is not to
practise or enjoy a programme of instrumental or vocal music or
dance, shows their popularity. It seems that the game of dice was
looked upon as a popular entertainment, since a common gaming
hall is one of the official public buildings of a town.

The reference in the Maxtrdyaniya Upanishad to a napa (actor)
changing his dress and painting himself proves the popularity of
dramatic shows in this age.

7. Food and Drink

Rice and barley were evidently the staple articles of diet as
they were to be offered into the Gjrihya fire every morning and even¬
ing. Wheat was probably not eaten daily, as it is mentioned but
rarely. Beans ( masha ), kidney beans ( mudga ), mustard seed (sar-
shapa), and sesamum were known.

Milk and its products were very liberally used (ante, p. 461).
The various forms of butter (due to its varying temperature) were

525

THE VEDIC AGE

distinguished for purposes of the ritual as: clarified ( sarpis ), melted
(aji/a), and solid ( ghrita ) butter. Among other esculent things may
be mentioned honey and kshara-lcivana (saline food), which is sup¬
posed to be an irritant and an excitant, and therefore to be eschewed
in the interests of celibacy.

The culinary art was fairly well developed. The different pro¬
cesses or operations through which the grains passed before being
cooked or eaten are indicated in words like akshata-dhana (unbroken
grain), Idja (fried grain), and saktu (ground grain). Washing the
rice-grains, husking them, baking them, and sprinkling ajya over
them, and then taking them out of the oven are the different stages
mentioned in the preparation of a sthalzpaka. The preparation of a
Puroddsa (sacrificial cake) implied great skill in baking as it was
baked on a pan with varying number of hollows (resembling sau¬
cers) which gave a variety of forms to it. An Apupa was a cake
baked on a fiat vessel. Boiled rice (odana) eaten with ghi, milk-
rice (payasa) which seems to be a preparation very much akin to
dudha-paka so popular in Gujarat now, lcrisara (boiled rice mixed
with sesamum seeds), dadhimantha and madhu-mantha (cooked
ground grains mixed with curds and honey respectively), and rice
and barley gruel are other preparations known. The scum of boil¬
ed rice made a very light liquid food. Vegetable food (stika) is
mentioned as a substitute for flesh-food ( mamsa )•

But people in this age were by no means vegetarians. They
ate flesh freely, not excluding even beef which was prohibited later
owing to the growing reverence for the cow. Flesh-food must be
served to the Brahmanas invited to a Sraddha dinner, ■ vegetable
food being allowed only in its absence. Similarly in the ceremony
of the first feeding of the child with solid food, among the various
foods enumerated in order of merit, the flesh of a goat, partridge,
or another (specified) bird, and fish come first, boiled rice mixed
with ghi coming last. Similarly food offered to a guest of conse¬
quence must not he without flesh. The merit of vegetarian diet is,
however, recognized in the rule that a student should abstain from
flesh.

In spite of condemnation in the earlier texts (ante, p. 462) and
severe penalties laid down in the Dharma-sutras, surd continued to
be a favourite intoxicating drink. The four or eight women who
give a dance at the marriage ceremony are to be regaled with food
and surd • In the Anvashtakya ceremony, surd is to be offered
along with the pinda offerings to female ancestors. The Srauta
ritual is naturally full of references to the Soma drink in the nume¬
rous Soma sacrifices, and the Gnhya ritual in the fitness of things
ignores it.

526

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
8. Dress and Decoration

Two pieces of clothing — -one the uttafiya or upper, and the
other the Antanya or lower — constituted the dress proper (the
simple two-piece suit) of males and females; the lower garment be¬
ing put on first and then the upper one. If one could afford only
one garment, then a part of the lower garment may be turned into
and worn as an upper garment. In the case of a student, the skin
of a deer or goat made a very holy upper garment. The aprapa-
drna pata , mentioned by Panini, is a garment that reached down to
the ankles. A longish piece of cloth wrapped round the head in
the fashion prescribed by local custom constituted the ceremonial
head-wear or turban. The same piece could be used informally to
veil the head- Red turbans and clothes were used for magic rites
and silk ones ( kshauma ) for sacrificial purposes.

Woollen blankets were in use. In the list of garments pres¬
cribed for the upariita (the initiated boy) figure cotton, woollen,
linen, and hempen cloth. Silk was also used (as there is a refe¬
rence to the silk-worm giving silk). Upper garments were dyed
with the juice of lodhra flowers or with madder or indigo. Black
clothes were also worn (as they are forbidden for one practising
the Sakvara vow). The colour scheme of dyed garments prescrib¬
ed for the upavJta is interesting; reddish yellow, light red, and
yellow for the Brahmana, the Kshatriya, and the Vaisya respective¬
ly. The art of washing was, of course, known, though a particular
sanctity attaches to a brand new (ahata) garment.

A pair of garments, a turban, ear-rings, shoes, a bamboo staff,
and an umbrella complete the full dress (of a sndtaka, for example).
The danda (staff) is not only a weapon of defence in the ordinary
sense, but also a magic wand for warding off evil. The staff of the
upanita boy was to be of palasa, bilva, or nyagrodha (or udumbara)
wood, according to his caste. It had to be of a standard height. In
one Grihya-sutra (the Asvalayana) there is an invocation to the
shoe not to pinch. So shoes have had a tendency to pinch in all
times and climes!

Two important sacraments- — the Chuda-karman or tonsure
ceremony for the child, and the Goddna or the ceremony of hair¬
cutting at the age of sixteen or eighteen — give us a clear idea of
development of the tonsorial art as known and practised in those
days. Among the details of the Chuda-karman are the use of a mix¬
ture of hot and cold water to moisten the hair, the tangled locks of
which are disentangled with a porcupine’s quill — the hair-comb of
the ancients — the anointing of the hair with fresh butter, the hold¬
ing of a mirror before the boy, the use of the razor (with a copper
or wooden handle) which makes a sound while it is being plied by
the barber on the head, and the leaving of a lock or locks {Chv^d)
according to local custom or family usage. A layer of Kusa grass

527

THE VEDIC AGE

is kept ready to receive the hair that is cut off. In the Godana cere¬
mony, the beard and the hair, both on the head and under the arm-
pits, are shaved and the nails clipped* Generally a top-lock was
kept, as a clean-shaven head was not fashionable. The Asvalayana
and Sdnkhdyava Grihya-sutras, strangely enough, prescribe both
these rites for girls. Probably local custom determined what quan¬
tity of hair was’ to be kept and in what fashion in the case of both
boys and girls. The Simantonnayana ceremony (of parting the hair
of a pregnant woman mentioned above) clearly shows that the two
(shaving) ceremonies did not much affect the growth of hair on a
girl’s head. Does this ceremonial parting of the hair in pregnancy
suggest that unmarried girls and married women who were not
mothers did not part their hair but merely brushed it back?

It is noteworthy that the toilet and make-up of the ancient
Indians were not as simple as we fondly imagine. Colly rium {an-
jana)t an eye-salve, and other salves for anointing the body before
the bath and the nose and mouth after the bath, sthagara (a frag¬
rant application) (see ante, p. 463), a bath-powder, and ground san¬
dalwood are among the toilet requisites mentioned in connection
with the “bath” ceremony which entitles a student who has com¬
pleted his studies to become a sndtaka (graduate) and settle down
as a householder by marrying if he so chooses. Garlands and kun-
$al&s Can ear ornament) are put on after the sndna (bath). Three
gems strung on a wollen or linen cord make at once an ornament
and a charm for a bride when tied round her body- A perforated
pellet of sandal or Bddara wood, overlaid with gold and worn round
the neck, and a Badara-mani or pellet of Bddara- wood tied to the
left hand, are among the other known ornaments worn by both
males and females with distinction.

9. Health and Hygiene

A keen desire to live a long and healthy life of a hundred years
was the natural outrome of the optimistic and robust outlook which
the ancient Indians had on life. Their healthy slogan was “preven¬
tion is better than cure.” Consumption seems to have been a noto¬
rious affliction. Epilepsy {Kumar a or Apasmara ), to which children
were particularly liable, was very much dreaded and its popular
name gvagraha indicates that it was supposed to be a seizure or
attack by a dog-demon. Among the symptoms are stiffness of the
body and much crying aloud. Another peculiar illness, to which
again boys were particularly susceptible, was named Samkha in
which the patient utters tones resembling the sound of a Samkha
(conch) when blown. These diseases were sought to be cured by propi¬
tiating the demons by means of rites and ceremonies which afford a
glimpse into the curious superstitions and magical belief of the
period- From the number of rites prescribed during the period of

528

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

pregnancy, it seems that a safe delivery was a matter of great con¬
cern. f Headache and poisonous bites are among the minor ailments
receiving ritual treatment.

That there were centenarians is seen from the rules in the cere-

mony of Udakaddna or the offering of water libations to the deceas¬
ed. Fasts are so often recommended in the ritual that the inference
becomes irresistible that the ancient Indians were fully aware of
their beneficial effects on health.

A knowledge of hygienic principles may be inferred from
many a rule in the Grihya-sutras. Cleanliness is most stringently
enforced and the free use of water is recommended at every step
in the ritual for cleansing purposes. A regular daily bath is insist¬
ed on. Floors are to be swept, sprinkled over with water, and
smeared with cow-dung. There is a peculiar mixture prescribed
for smearing the floor and walls of the lying-in chamber, which
must have been an effective disinfectant. A sndtaka is not to spit
or eject phlegm in the neighbourhood of water. That special places
were set apart to receive dirt, accumulated waste, and sweepings
is seen from the direction to offer a bali on such “heaps of sweeping/’
Easing was to be done on ground covered with grass and not on the
bare ground. That cow stables and cemeteries were located out¬
side the village or town is seen from the rule which enumerates
them among landmarks in a journey along with a forest, a boun¬
dary-tree, etc.

2. ECONOMIC CONDITION
1. Agriculture and Cattle

The fact that there is a domestic rite synchronizing with each
stage in the agricultural life of the people, and practically none
associated with urban life, shows that the Indians of those days lived
mostly in villages, and that the village agriculturist was the true re¬
presentative of ancient India. There are rites for putting the bulls
and oxen to the plough, for sowing, and for honouring Slid (lit., the
“Furrow”) or the Goddess of Agriculture. There is a sacrifice offered
to Kshetrapati or the Lord of the Field. The Agrayapa sacrifice is
the religious ceremony of partaking of the first fruits of the harvest.
There are further sacrifices signalizing the other agricultural opera¬
tions such as threshing, the reaping of the crop, and putting it into
the barn.

Rice and barley seem to be the staple crops from the reference
to the two harvests — that of barley in the hot season and of rice in
autumn. From the direction to the sndtaka to live on the gleanings
of uncultivated corn it may be easily inferred that there were exten¬
sive stretches of uncultivated land and forest, and wild rice and
grains used to grow on untilled tracts. That a cultivated field was

529

THE VEDIC AGE

measured by the quantity of seeds that could be sown in it is seen
from the term prasthika in Panini, applied to a field that accommo¬
dated a prastha-full of seeds-

The cattle were an invaluable possession. “Make us rich in
cows” is almost the burden of the mantras that accompany the vari¬
ous Grihya rites. All the three higher classes were engaged in
cattle-keeping in their own way. There are ceremonies like the
Sulagava and the Baudhyavihdra for propitiating Rudra and his
hosts, so that they may avert evil from cattle and the fields. Cattle
served, in a way, as the standard of value or. as a medium of ex¬
change, because kings kept their own herds and gave away thou¬
sands of cows as dakshind (sacrificial fees). The Darshadvata sacri¬
fice, described in the &rauta-sutras, is virtually a description of the
tending of the cows of a Brahmana in Kurukshetra for one year. The
Grihya-sutras prescribe a number of minor rites on the following
occasions: —

(1) When the cows are led to the pasture lands;

(2) When they run about;

(3) When they return; and

(4-5) before, and after, their entry into the cow-pen.

The &rauta-sutras prescribe sacrifices for the acquisition and re¬
covery of lost cows. Prayers and rites for prosperity in cattle and
their good health abound in the Grihya-sutras- There is a cere¬
mony for cattle-breeding called Vrishotsarga on the release of a
(stud-) bull among the cows. Yakshmd, a wasting disease affecting
cattle, was very much dreaded. It was a custom to brand the cows.

But the cows were not prized merely as property. A feeling
of reverence for them is rapidly growing. A suspension of study
( anadhyaya ) is ordered in the presence of cows that have eaten
nothing. Persons riding in a chariot are to do homage to a cow,
if met with on the way. Paradoxically enough, in the eyes of the
ancient Indians, this veneration of the cow is not only not incon¬
sistent with the cow-sacrifice prescribed in funeral ceremonies, on
the occasion of a guest-reception, or the Sulagava (spitox) sacrifice,
but is, in a sense, responsible for it. Nevertheless, the feeling of
reverence for the cow went on steadily gathering volume, and the
rule for sacrificing a cow was often relaxed by the admissibility of
an alternative or substitute ritual whereby the cow was saved-

2. Trade and Commerce , Arts and Industries

There is a rite called panyasiddhi (ensuring success in trade)
in which a portion of the particular article of trade is cut off and
sacrificed in the fire with the prayer: “If we carry on trade to
acquire (new) wealth by means of our (old) wealth, may Soma. . .
prosper that.” ( Hiranyakesi G. S. I. 15- 1). The Vaisya class was
engaged in trade and commerce. The Sutras of Panini refer to im-

530

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

ports from the north and his vamsddi gana mentions several forest-
products such as V ams a, Kutaja , Ikshu (sugar-cane) and Madya
(liquor). The Grihya-sutra rule, that the relations of a deceased per¬
son are not to cook in the house, hut to buy food during the period of
the death-impurity, shows that food could be bought either from pub¬
lic eating houses (?) or private individuals. A system of coinage
or currency was probably in vogue, though quite a large volume of
trade was managed by way of exchanges in kind. Panini mentions
coins like Pana, R&rshapana , Pada, and Vdha and measures and
weights like A^haka, Achita, Patra, Drona, and Prastha. But, as
noted above, Panini’s date is uncertain, and he probably belonged to
a period later than 600 B.C.

Implements and vessels of copper, iron, stone, and earthenware
are mentioned and must have been locally manufactured. Golden
spoons and brass gongs were in use. Silver was also known. Up¬
per and lower millstones, mortar and pestle, cups, ladles, dishes,
spoons, and swords were required for domestic as well as ritual use-
Baskets made of leaves are referred to. Katas or rush mats made
of Vlrina grass were offered as seats for the married couple. The
varieties of cloth worn were cotton, linen, woollen, silken, and
hempen. That spinning and weaving were daily occupations of
the people is clear from the rule that the initiated boy is to put on
a garment spun and woven on the same day, and from the prayers
offered to ‘‘Goddesses who spun and wove” ( Apastamba G. S. IV.
10-10) . A Chdtrd or spindle is mentioned. A flourishing dyeing
industry may be inferred from the prescription of garments of
different colours for the initiated boy.

Many of the occupations, professions, arts, crafts, and industries
have been already incidentally referred to In the previous sections
(also cf. ante , Ch. XXIII, pp. 466-7). We may notice here the pro¬
fession of the butcher, who was so indispensable in the animal
sacrifice that there was actually a priest called Samitri who did the
necessary slaughtering to the accompaniment of sacred verses.
Manual labour was so highly prized that it was compulsory for a
student as a householder ( sndtaka ).

3. House-building and Means of Transport

The fact that the Grihya-sutras include the ceremony of house¬
building among sacraments to be performed by the rich and the poor
alike, leads to the obvious inference that in those days of vast open
spaces and long stretches of jungle, a site for a house and building
materials were available to a poor man of three higher classes at a
nominal cost- The site should be undisputed property. It should
be non-saline and with trees, herbs, or at least grass, growing
thereon. It should not be hollow or undermined and be of the
colour prescribed for the particular caste. From the directions

531

THE VEDIC AGE

given, we gather that a spacious house contained an assembly or
drawing room a provision-room, and a resting or retiring room,
with a nursery and privy standing detached from the main building.
Measuring the site, digging the pits for the posts, two of which were
erected in each of the four directions, setting up the door-jambs and
the gable, putting up the beams and the grass or thatch on the roof,
are some of the operations detailed. The position of the main door
is carefully specified. The setting up of the water-barrel — evident¬
ly an arrangement for water supply — is part of the house construc¬
tion. The repairs and renovation of the house are to be effected every
year with ceremony about the same time as the Divali holidays
of the Hindus. From the directions to erect huts and enclosures
in the course of a day, it seems these could be improvised with ease.
The consecration ritual for ponds, tanks, wells, covered reservoirs
of water, and gardens, shows that these were public works for
general use though they seem to have been constructed by indivi¬
duals rather than by the state; for the ritual is of the domestic type-
Bridges, roads, cross-ways, and squares where four roads meet
are referred to. Among the means of transport may be mentioned
the very popular, light two-wheeled wooden carriage ( ratha ).
Horses and oxen (even cows occasionally) were the common draught
animals, the elephant being employed for a state journey or a pro¬
cession. Horses, asses, camels, and elephants were ridden for pur¬
poses of travel. Rivers were crossed by rafts and boats, and if
necessary by ships.

1. The list is given in Chhandogya, 7. 1, 2 and is repeated several times in the
following sections. The interpretation of the technical terms denoting different
branches of knowledge is not always easy. Max Muller takes Brahma-vidya
as three of the Vedaiigas (viz., Siksha , Kalpa, and Chhandas) ; Devajana-vidyti
as “the sciences of the genii, such as the making of perfumes, dancing, singing,
playing, and other fine arts”; Pitrya as “the rules for the sacrifices for the
ancestors”; and the Veda of the Vedas as grammar ( SBE , I, pp. 109-10).

532

GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY

I . ORIGINAL SOURCES

(A detailed account of the literature of the age has been given
in Chapters XII, XVI, XX, and XXIV. A select list of important
texts, with translations, is given below. Further accounts of the
individual texts will be found in Winternitz History o{ Indian
Literature, vol. I and the other Histories of Literature mentioned
in section II, B of this bibliography.)

Aitareya Ar any aka:

Aitareya Brdh-
mana:

Apastambtya
Dharmasutra:
Apastambiya
Srautasutra :
Arsheya Brahmana:
Asvaldyana Grihya-
sutra:

Atharvaveda:

Baudhdyana Dhar -
masastra:

Baudhdyana

Grihyasutra:

Baudhdyana

Srautasutra:

Brihadaranyaka

Upanishad:

Chhandogya

Upanishad:

Daivata Brahmana:

Gautama Dharma¬
sutra:

Gopatha Brahmana ;

Kapishthala Katha
Samhita:

Kdthaka Samhita:

Katyayana Srauta >
sxitra:

Kaushitaki Brdh-
mana:

Text ASS. No* 37, Poona, 1898. Ed, with a
trans. by A. B. Keith. Oxford, 1909-
Ed. Th. Aufrecht Bonn, 1879.

Ed. K. S. Agashe. Poona, 1896.

Trans, by Keith. HOS, Vol. XXV. Cambridge,
Mass. 1920.

Ed. by G. Biihler (Bombay Sanskrit Series),
1892, 1894.

Ed. by R. Garbe- Calcutta, 1882-1902.

Ed. by A. C. Burnell. Mangalore, 1876.

Ed. by A. G. Stenzler, Leipzig, 1864.

Ed. R. Roth and W. D. Whitney. Berlin, 1856.
Ed. with Sayana’s Comm, by S. P. Pandit.
Bombay, 1895-8.

Trans, by W. D. Whitney. Cambridge, Mass.,
U.S.A, 1905.

Trans, in part. M. Bloomfield. SBE, Vol. XLII.
Oxford, 1897.

Ed. by E- Hultsch. Leipzig, 1884.

Ed. by R. Shama Sastri. Mysore, 1920.

Ed. by W. Caland. Calcutta, 1904-23-

Ed. with trans. by O. Bohtlingk. Leipzig, 1889.

Ed- with trans. by O. Bohtlingk. Leipzig, 1889.

Ed. by Jivananda Vidyasagara. Calcutta, 1881.
Text ASS, Tr. SBE, II.

Ed. by Rajendralal Mitra and H. Vidyabhu-
shan. Calcutta, 1872-
Ed. by Raghu Vira- Lahore, 1932.

Ed. by Von Schroeder. Leipzig, 1900-11.

Ed. by Vidyadhara Sarma. Benares, 1933-7.

Ed. by E. B. Cowell. Calcutta, 1861. Trans, by
Keith. HOS, XXV- Cambridge, Mass., 1920.

533

THE VEDIC AGE

Khddira-Grihya -
sutra:
Maitrdyani
Samhitd :
Nirukta:

Pahchavimia

Brahmana:
Paraskara Qfihya-
sutra:

Rigveda:

Samaveda:

Samavidhana
Brahmana:
Samhitopanishad
Brdhmaiia:
Sahkhdyana
Ar any aka:

Sankhayana

Srautasutra:

Satapatha Brah¬
mana:

Shadvinusa

Brahmana:

Taittiriya

Brahmana:

Taittiriya Samhitd:

Taittiriya
JJpanishad :

Vdjasaneyi

Samhitd:

Varhsa BrdhmcPia:

Vasishtha

Dharmasutra:

Ed. by A. Mahadeva Sastri and L. Srinivasa-
chary a. Mysore, 1913.

Ed. by Von Schroeder. Leipzig, 1881-6-

Ed. with Durgacharya’s Comm, by V. K. Raja-
vade. Poona, 1921-26. Ed- and trans. by L.
Sarup. Two vols. Lahore..

Ed. by A. Vedanta vagisa. Calcutta, 1869-74-

Ed. by Gopal Shastri Nene. Benares, 1926.

Samhita and Pada text with Sayana’s Comm.
Ed. by F- Max Muller (second edn.). 1890-2.
Samhita and Pada text with Sayana’s
Comm, critically edited by Vaidika Saiiiso-
dhana Masala, Poona. Four vols. 1933, etc.
Trans, by H. Grassmann- Leipzig, 1876-7;
R. T- H. Griffith. Benares, 1896-7; in part,
by Max MUller. SBE. vol. XXXII, Oxford,
1891, and H. Oldenberg, SBE, Vol. XLVI-
Oxford, 1897.

Ed- with trans. by Th. Benfey. Leipzig, 1848. Ed.

by Satyavrata Samasrami. Calcutta, 1873.
Ed. by A. C. Burnell. London,- 1873.

Ed. by A- C. Burnell. Mangalore, 1877.

Ed. by Friedlander. Berlin, 1900 (.1-11); E. B.
Cowell. Calcutta, 1861 (III-VI); A. B.
Keith. Oxford, 1909 (VII-XV). Trans, by’
A. B. Keith. London, 1908.

Ed. with Comm, of Varadatta-suta Anartiya
and Govinda, by A. Hillebrandt. Calcutta,
1886-9-

Ed. by A. Weber. London, 1885. Trans- by J.
Eggeling. SBE, XII, XXVI. XLI, XLIIII,
XLIV. Oxford, 1882-1900.

Ed. by Jivananda Vidyasagara- Calcutta,
1881. Ed. by H. F. Eelsingh. Leyden, 1908.
Ed. by R- Mitra. Calcutta, 1855-70.

Ed. by A. Weber. Berlin. 1871-2: with the
Comm, of Madhava, Calcutta. 1854-99.

Ed. with Comm, of Sankara- ASS. fifth edn.
Poona, 1929.

Ed. with Mahidhara’s Comm, by A. Weber.
London, 1852.

Ed. by A. C. Burnell. Mangalore. 1873. Ed.

by A. Weber. Ind. Stud, IV. pp. 371 ff.

Ed. by A. A. Fuhrer. Bombay. 1916.

534

GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY

Yajurveda: See Taittiriya Saihhita, Kapishthala-Kafha-

Sarhhita, Kathaka Saihhita, Maitrayanl Sam¬
hita and Vajasaneyi Saihhita.

Translations of Collected Works

1. The principal Upanishads have been translated by F. Max

Muller in SBE, I, XV, and by R. A. Hume in Thirteen
Principal Upanishads, Oxford, 1921.

2. The Grihya-sutras of Sankhayana, Asvalayana, Paraskara,
* Khadira, Gobhila, Hiranyakesin and Apastamba have

been translated by H.Oldenberg in SBE, XXIX and XXX.

3. The Dharma-sutras of Apastamba, Gautama, Vasishtha and

Baudhayana have been translated by G. Btihler in SBE,
II and XIV.

II. MODERN WORKS

A. Histories of Ancient India ( which prominently deal with the

Vedic Age)-

Cambridge History of India. Vol. I. Cambridge, 1922.

Dutt, R. C. History of Civilisation in Ancient India - Lon¬

don, 1893.

Mookerji Hindu Civilisation. London, 1936.

Radhakumud

Oldenberg H.
Rabson, E. J.
Raychaudhitri,
H. C.

Ancient India (second edn.). Chicago, 1898.
Ancient India. Cambridge, 1914.

Political History of Ancient India (fourth
edn ). Calcutta, 1938.

M •

10.

It.

Farquhar, J. X.

Frazer, R. W.
Henry, V.

Kane, P. V.

Macdonell, A. A.
Max Muller, F.

Oldenberg, H.
PlSCHEL, R.

Vajdya, C. V.
Weber, A.

WlNTERNITZ, M.

Iyexgaji, P.T.S.
Kaegi, A.

B. Histories of Literature

An Outline of the Religious Literature of
India. Oxford, 1920.

Literary History of India. London, 1898.

Les Litteratures de ITnde. Paris, 1904.
History of Dharmasastra. Three vols- Poona,
1930, 1941, 1946-

History of Sanskrit Literature. London, 1900.
History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature (second
edn.). London, 1860.

Die Literatur des alten Indien. Berlin, 1903.

Die indische Literatur, (<Die Orientalischen
Liter aturen,” Die Kultur Gegenwar, I, vii.
Berlin und Leipzig, 1906-
History of Sanskrit Literature, vol. I: Sruti
(Vedic) Period. Poona, 1930.

History of Indian Literature (Eng. Trans, by J.
Mann and Th. Zachariae) (second edn.). Lon¬
don, 1882.

History of Indian Literature (Eng. Trans, by
Mrs. S. Ketkar), vol. I. Calcutta, 1927.

C. General Works

Life in Ancient India. Madras, 1912.

The Rigveda, Trans, by R. Arrowsmith. Bos¬
ton, 1886-

535

ir> O

THE VEDIC AGE

8. Macdonell, A. A
and Keith, A. B.
4. Muir, J.

, Oldenberg, H.

. Pischel, R. and
GrELDNER, K. F.

7. Roth, R.

8. Von Schroeder,

9. Zimmer, H.

Vedic Index . London.

Original Sanskrit Texts. London.

Rigveda jorschung. Berlin, 1905.

Vedische Studien. Stuttgart, 1889-1901.

Zur Litteratur und Geschichte des Veda « Stut¬
tgart, 1846.

Indians Liter atur und Kultur , Leipzig, 1887.
Altindisches Lehen. Berlin, 1879.

536

BIBLIOGRAPHY

CHAPTER III

Archaeological Explorations and Excavations

1. The publications of the Archaeological Survey of India, viz.:

Reports by Cunningham (23 vols.).

Annual Reports and Reports of Circles (since
1902-3).

Memoirs (67 vols-).

New Imperial Series.

2 . Archaeological Survey Reports of Indian States (Baroda, Gwa¬

lior, Hyderabad, Mysore, Jaipur, etc.).

3. Cumming, Slr Revealing India’s Past (London, 1939). (It

John.

gives a complete bibliography of Archaeo¬

4. Bikshit, K. N.

logical publications up to 1939.).

The Progress of Archaeology in India in the

o. Bikshit, K.N.

past 25 years.

An Outline of Archaeology in India (included
in “An Outline of the Field Sciences of India”
published by the Indian Science Congress.
Calcutta, 1937).

CHAPTER IV

The Geological Background of Indian History
1. Brown, J. C. Catalogue of Pre-historic Antiquities in the

2. Burrard, Sir

S. G. and

Heron, A. M.

3. Cunningham, A.

Indian Museum at Calcutta , Simla, 1917.
The Geography and Geology of the Himalaya
Mountains • Delhi, 1932.

Ancient Geography of India. Trubner, Lon¬
don, 1871.

4. Be Terra, H. and Studies on the Ice Age in India and Associate
Paterson, T. T. ed Human Cultures. Carnegie Inst., Wa-

5. Foote, R. B.

shington, 1939.

“Discovery of Pre-historic Remains in India.”

Geol. Mag* London, I. X, 1873.

G Hayden Sir H. X. “Relation of the Himalayas to the Indo-Gan-

7. Mitra, P.

8. Oldham. C. F.

getic Plain and the Peninsula.” Rec. Geol.
Surv. Ind., vol. XLIII, Pt- 2, 1913.
Prehistoric India. Calcutta University, 1927.
“The Lost River of the Indian Desert,” CR,

{». Oldham, R. D.

vol. LIX, 1874.

“The Structure of the Indo-Gangetic Plains-”
Mem . Geol. Surv. Ind., vol. XLII, 1917.

10. Pilgrim. G. E.

“The Siwalik Primates and Their Bearing on
the Question of Evolution of Man.” Rec -

11. WADL4, D. X.

Geol. Surv. Ind., vol. XLV, 1915.

Geology of India. Macmillan, London (third
edn), 1939.

12. Wadia. B. X.

“Post-Tertiary Hydrography of Northern
India.” Nat. Inst. Sc. Ind., vol. IV, 4, 1938.

537

THE VEDIC AGE
CHAPTER V

The Geographical Background of Indian History
Imperial Gazetteer of India. Oxford, 1907-9.

Holdich, T.H. India ( Regions of the World Series )• Oxford,

Holdich, T. H.
Mackinder, H. J.
Morrison, C. A.

1905.

The Gates of India. London, 1910.

Eight Lectures on India . London, 1910.

A New Geography of the Indian Empire. Lon¬
don, 1909.

CHAPTER VI

I. Flora

1. Biswas, K.

Presidential Address ♦ Sec. of Botany, Ind. Sc.

2. Bart, B. C.

Congress, 1943.

Agriculture and Animal Husbandry in India.
Silver Jub. Session, Ind. Sc. Cong., 1937.

3. Calder, C. C.

An Outline Vegetation of India • Silver Jub.

4. Ohatterjee, I).

Session. Ind. Sc. Cong., 1937.

“Studies in the endemic flora of India,”

• 5. Das Gupta, A.

6. Hooker, J. D.

7. Hooker, J. D.

JRASB(S), V, 19 ff.

Economic and Commercial Geography, 1941.
A sketch of the flora of British India , 1904-
Imperial Gazetteer of India , vol. I (Botany),
1909.

8. Hooker, J. D. Introductory Essay to the Flora Indica , 1855.
and Thomson. J.

2. Fauna

1 . Fauna of British India .

2. Gharpurey, The Snakes of India. Bombay, 1937.

K. G. ,Lt.- Col.

3. Imperial Gazetteer of India. I, 1909.

4. Rao, H. S.

A?i Outline of the Fauna of India. Calcutta,
1937.

5. Salim Ali.

The Book of Indian Birds. Bombay, 1941-

G. Whistler, Hugh. Popular Handbook of Indian Birds. London,

1935.

CHAPTER VII

Palaeolithic , Neolithic and Copper Age
(Cf. also Bibliography to Ch. IV.)

] . Brown, J. C.

Catalogue of Pre-historic Antiquities in the
Indian Museum at Calcutta , 1917.

2. Cammiade, L. A.
and Burkitt,
M.C.

Chakravarti,

S.N.

4. Chakravarti,

S.N.

5. Das Gupta, H.C.

“Fresh Light on the Stone Age in South-east
India.” Antiquity, IV (1930, pp. 327-39).

The Pre-historic periods in India. JUB, X.
Part I (1941).

“An Outline of the Stone Age in India.”

JRASB(L), X, pp, 81-98.

“Bibliography of Prehistoric Indian Antiqui¬
ties.” JASB , XXVII, 1931, No. 1.

0. De Terra, H.

“The Siwaliks of India and Early Man.”
Early Man • 1939.

538

BIBLIOGRAPHY

7. De Terra,

Hellmut*
Mo vi us and
Hallam L.

8. Foote.

9. Ghurye, G. S.

“Research on Early Man in Burma.” Tran¬
sactions of the American Philosophical
Society , vol. 32, Part iii (1943), pp. 343-5.

Indian Prehistoric and Protohistoric Antiqui¬
ties, Notes on their Ages and Distribution,
1916.

“Megalithic Monuments,” NIA, VI, pp. 26-57,
100-39.

10. Karve and
Sankalia.

3 1. Rea, A. R.

12. Sankalia, H. D.

Preliminary Report of the Third Gujarat
Expedition , Poona, 1945.

Catalogue of Prehistoric Antiquities from
Adichanallur and Perumbair, 1915-
Investigations into Prehistoric Archaeology
of Gujarat, Sri-Pratapsimha Maharaja Ra-
iyabhisheka Granthamala, Memoir No. IV,
Baroda, 1946.

See also Proceedings of the Science Congress, Archaeological Reports

(see under Ch- III).

CHAPTER VIII

Race Movements and Prehistoric Culture

1. Anderson, J. D.

2. Bagcht, P. C.

3. Baines, A.

4. Caldwell.

5. Caldwell.

0. Chanda, R. P.

7. Chatterji, S. K.

8. Chatterji, S. K.

9. Crooke, W.

10. Guha, B. S.

11. Guha, B. S.

12. Iyengar, P. T. S.

13. Risley, H. H.

14. Risley, II. II.

15. Thurston, E and

Rangachari, K.

Peoples of India. Cambridge, 1913.

Pre-Aryan and Pre-Dr avidian in India. Cal¬
cutta University, 1929.

Ethnography. Strassburg, 1912.

Comparative Grammar of the Dr avidian Lan¬
guage*

The Census of India (Reports for 1901, 1911,
1921, 1931, 1941).

The Indo-Aryan Races. Rajshahi, 1916.

“Non-Aryan Elements in Indo-Aryan.” JGIS,
II, 42.

“Dravidian Origins and the Beginnings of
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539

THE VEDIC AGE

CHAPTER IX

The Indus Valley Civilization

Afte, T>. N.

Aravamuthan,

T. G.

Ayyar, R, S. V.

Banerji, R. D.

Banerji-Sastri,

Beasley, H. G.

Bhandarkar,

D. R.

10.

Bhandarkar,

D. R,

11.

Billimora, N. M.

12.

Billimoria, N. M.

13.

Brown, W.
Norman.

14.

Cadell, Sir P.

15.

Carleton, P.

16.

Chanda, R. P.

17.

Chanda, R. P.

18.

Chanda, R. P.

19.

Chattdhttri,

N.M.

20.

Chaudhury, N.C.

21.

Ohilde, V. G.

22.

Dekshit, K. N.

23.

Ehrenfels,
Baron Omar.
Rolf

Hindi-Sumeri Sahskriti (in Marathi). Poona,

1928.

Some Survivals of the Harappa Culture .
Bombay, 1942.

The Indo-Sumcro-Semitic-Hittite Problems.
Madras, 1932.

“Dravidian Civilization.” MR, Sept. 1927,
pp. 304-14; Nov. 1927, pp. 552-9.

“The Indian Affinities of the Ainu Pottery.”

JASB, XXIII, pp. 269-72-
Asura India . Patna, 1926.

“Remains of a pre-historic civilization in the
Gangetic Valley.” JBHS , III, pp. 187-91.
“The Script of Mohenjo-daro, Harappa and
Easter Island.” Man, XXXVI, No. 199-
“Siva of prehistoric India.” JISOA, V, pp.
74-7.

Some Aspects of Ancient Indian Culture.
Madras, 1940.

“Excavations of prehistoric places in Sind.”
JSHS , II, pp. 9-17.

“The Script of Mohenjo-daro and Easter
Island.” ABORI, XX, pp. 262-75.

“The Beginnings of Civilization in India.”

JAOS , LIX. Supp., pp. 32-44.

“Who are the Descendants of the People of
Mohenjo-daro?” Anthrop. Soc- Bom, Jub.
Vol., pp. 20-30.

Buried Empires. London, 1939.

“The Indus Valley in the Vedic Period.”

MASI , No. 31- Calcutta, 1926.

“Sind Five Thousand Years Ago.” MR, LI I,
pp. 151-60.

“Survival of the prehistoric Civilization of
the Indus Valley.” MASI, No. 41. Calcutta,

1929.

“The Pamirian Alpines in the Indus Valley in
Chalcolithic Times.” CR, June, 1945.
Mohenjo-daro and the Civilization of An¬
cient India with reference to Agriculture.
Calcutta, 1937.

New Light on the Most Ancient East. London,
N. Y. 1934.

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“The Indus Civilization and ^Ethnographic Re¬
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IV, pp. 90-8.

540

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24.

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25.

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26.

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27.

Fabri, C. L.

28.

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29.

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30.

Fabri, C. L.

31.

Frankfort, H.

32.

Frankfort, H.

33.

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34.

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35.

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H. F., and
Muller H. W.

36.

Gadd, C. J.

37.

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38.

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39.

Gordon, T>. H.
and Gordon
M. E.

40.

Guha, B. S.

41.

Hargreaves, H.

42.

Heras, H.

43.

Heras, H.

44.

Heras, H.

45.

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46.

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47.

Heras, H.

<»

««

The Age of the ‘Indus Valley Civilization’.”
CS, VI, pp. 433-6.

‘Un element mesopotamian dans l’art de
ITnde.” JA, CCXVII, pp. 298-302.

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“A Sumero-Babylonian Inscription discovered
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Cylinder Seals. London, 1939-

“The Indus Civilization and the Near East.
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Der Alte Orient. 1933.

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A Note on the Nose-ornament in Mohenjo¬
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“Survivals of the Indus Culture.” JRASB(L),
1940, pp. 61-71.

“New Light on the Indus Valley Civilization.”
SC, II, pp. 49 f.

“Excavations in Baluchistan, 1925.” MASI, No.
35, Calcutta,' 1929.

“Chanhu-daro and its Inscriptions,” St. Xa¬
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“Further Excavations at Mohenjo-daro.” NR,
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“Karnatak and Mohenjo-daro.” KHR, IV, pp.
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“The longest Mohenjo-daro Epigraph.” J1H,
XVI, pp. 231-8.

“Mohenjo-daro — The most important -archaeo¬
logical site in India.” JIH, XVI, pp. 1-12.

“Mohenjo-daro, the People and the Land.” IC,
III, pp. 207-20.

541

THE VEDIC AGE

48.

Heras, H.

49.

Heras, H.

50.

Heras, H.

51.

Heras, H.

52.

Heras, H.

53.

Heras, H.

54.

Hertz, A.

55.

Hevesy, G. de.

56.

Hevesy, G. de.

57.

Hevesy, G. de.

58.

Hrozny, B.

59,

Hunter, G. R.

60.

Hunter, G. R.

61.

Jayaswal, K. P.

62.

Jayaswal, Iv. P.

63.

Joseph, P.

64.

Keith, A.
Berried ale.

65.

Keith, Sir
Arthur.

66.

Law, N. N.

67.

Luders, H.

68.

Luders, H.

69.

Maokay, E. J.H.

“The Numerals in the Mohenjo-daro Script.”
NIA, II, pp. 449-59.

“The Religion of the Mohenjo-daro People
according to the Inscriptions.” JUB , V, pp.
1-29.

“A supposed Sumero-Babylonian Inscription
discovered at Mohenjo-daro.” IRQ, XIII, pp.
697-703.

“Two Proto-Indian Inscriptions from Chanhu-
daro ” JBORS, XXII, pp. 308-20.

“Tree Worship in Mohenjo-daro.” Anthrop.
Soc Bom., Jub. Vol., pp. 31-9.

“Were Mohenjo-Darians Aryans or Dravi-
dians?” JIH, XXI, pp. 23-33.

“The Origin of the Proto-Indian and the Brah-
mi Scripts.” IRQ, XIII, pp. 389-99.

“Sur une Ecriture Oceanienne paraissant
d’origine neolithique.” Bulletin de la So¬
ciety Prehistorique. Francaise, 1933, pp.
433-49.

“On a Writing Oceanique* of Neolithic Ori¬
gin.” (Eng. Version.) JIH, XIII, pp. 1-17.

“Osterinselschrift und Indus-schrift.” OLZ
XXXVII, pp. 665-73.

O Nejstarsim Stehov&nt Ndrodu A O Problemu
Civilisace Proto-Indicke. Praha, 1939.
“Mohenjo-daro — Indus Epigraphy.” JR AS,

1932, pp. 466-503.

The Script of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro and
its Connection with other Scripts. London,
1934.

“The Punch-marked Coins: a survival of the
Indus Civilization.” JRAS , 1935, pp. 720 f.

“The Wikramkhol Inscription.” IA, LXII, op.
58-60.

“The Extent and Influence of the Indus Civili¬
zation.” JOR, XI, pp. 246-50.

“The Aryans and the Indus Valley Civiliza¬
tion.” Ojha Vol., Sect. I, pp. 58-66.

“The Ancient Mesopotamia of India,” ILN,
Dec. 19, 1931, pp. 1000-4.

“Mohenjo-daro and the Indus Civilization.”
IRQ , VIII, pp. 121-64.

“Philologie, Gcschichte and Archaeologie in
Indien” ZD MG, N.F., VIII.,. pp. 1-20.

“Die Ausgrabunsen von Mohenjo-Daro.”
ZDMG , NS, XIII, p. 22 f.

“Arts and Crafts in the time of Mohenm-
Daro.” IAL, XIII, pp. 73-89.

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70. Mackay, E.J.H.

71. Mackay,E. J.H.

72. Mackay, E.J.H.

73. Mackay, E.J.H.

74.

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75.

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70.

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77.

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78.

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79.

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81.

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82.

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83.

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84.

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89.

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90.

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91.

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92.

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93.

Ptsalker, A. D.

94.

Rawlinson,

H. G. and

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S.Y.

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Mahan-jo-Daro. Karachi, 1933.

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“Zur Indus-Schrift .” ZDMG , 1934, XII, pp.
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“Racial and Cultural Interrelations between
India and the West at the Dawn of the Age
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Prehistoric Orientale. 3 vols. 1925-7.

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“Die Indus-Schrift. Ihre Entzifferungs-und
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“Mohenjo-daro.” AE, June 1932.

“A Comparison between signs of the ‘Indus
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“The Scripts on the Indus Valley Seals, I and
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“Sumero-Egyptian Origin of the Aryans and
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“Cattle of the Indus Valley Civilization.” CR,
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“Authors of the Indus Culture.” ABORI,
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“The Indus Valley Civilization: Two Views.”
AP, 1934. pp. 84-90.

543

THE VEDIC AGE

95. Ross, A. S. 0.

96. ROSS, A. S. C.

97. Roy, Binode
Bihari.

98. &ANKARANANDA,

SWAMI.

99; Sarkar, S. S.

100. Sarup, L.

101. Sastri, S.

Srikantha.

102. Sastri, S.

Srikantha.

103. Sastri, S.

Srikantha.
101. Sastri, S.

Srikantha.

105. S.IEMBAVNEKAR,

K. M.

106. Speiser, E. A.

107. Speiser, E. A.

108. Stein, Sir

Aurel

109. Stein, Sir

Aurel.

110. Stein, Sir

Aurel.

111. Stein, Sir

Aurel.

112. Stein, Sir

Aurel.

113. Sur, A. K.

114. Sur, A.K.

115. Thomas, E. J.

116. Thomas, F. W.

117. Vats, M. S.

118. Venkateswara.

S. V.

119. Waddell, L. A.

“The direction of the Mohenjo-Daro Script.”
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“The Numeral Signs of the Mohenjo-Daro
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“Harappa and the Vedic Hariyupia.” JBORS,
XIV, pp. 129 f.

Rigvedic Culture of the Pre-Historic Indus.
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“Disposal of the Dead at Harappa.” SC, III,
pp. 632-4.

“'Die Rigveda and Mohenjo-Daro.” POC, VIII,
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“Proto-Indian Ceramics.” IHQ, XVI, pp. 511-23.

Proto-Indie Religion. Bangalore, 1942.

“Studies in the Indus Scripts.” QJMS, XXIV,
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“Hieroglyphic Hattili and Proto-Indie Scripts.”
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.“The Identity of the Indus Valjey Race with
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“On some important Synchronisms in Pre¬
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“An Archaeological Tour in Waziristan and
Northern Baluchistan.” MASIj No. 37, Cal¬
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Archaeological Reconnaissances in North-
Western India and South Eastern Iran.
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“An Archaeological Tour in Gedrosia.” MASI,
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“An Archaeological Tour in Upper Swat and
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cutta. 1930.

“The Indo-Iranian Borderlands: Their Pre¬
history in the Light of Geography and of Re¬
cent Excavations ” JRAI , LXIV. pp. 179-202.
“Indian Script Paleontology.” CR , 1933.
pp. 261-5.

“Origin of the Indus Valley Script.” IHQ , IX,
p. 582.

“Interpretation of the Indus Seals.” IHQ. XVI,
pp. 683-8.

“Mohenio-Daro and the Indus Civiliza¬
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Excavations at Harappa. 2 vols. 1940.

“The Antiouities of Harappa and Mohenjo-
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The Arvan Orioin of the Alphabet: Disclosing
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120. Waddell, L. A.

121. Woolley, C. L.

122. Woolley, C. L.

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London, 1929.

The Sumerians, 1928.

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The Aryan

1. BRANDEN STEEN*.

2. CniLDE, V. G.

3. Christensen, A.

4. Giles, G. P.

5. Herzfeld, E.

6. Ilirt-Fcsts-

chrift.

7. Hert, H.

8. Jackson,

A. V. W.

9, Meyer, E.

10. Much H.

11. N ERRING.

12. Reinach, S.

13. SPIEGEL, F.

14. Schrader, 0.

15. ' Schrader, 0.

lfi. Schrader, 0.

17. Taylor, I.

18. Tilak, B. G.

19. Tilak, B. G.

CHAPTER X, XI

Problem and Indo-Iranian Relations

Die erste indog ermanischen Wanderung, Wein.
1936.

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Kulturgeschichte des alten Orients.

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Iran in the Ancient East. 1941.

Heidelberg. 1936.

Die Indogermanen, ihre Verbreitung, ihre Ur-
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and 1907.

Notes and Allusions to Ancient India in Pah -
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Geschichte des Altertums.

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Urgeschichtlichen Forschung. Jena, 1904.

Stndien Zur indeg ermanischen Kultur und
Urheimat.

VOrigine des Aryens. Paris, 1892.

Die arische Periode und ihre Zustande. Leip¬
zig, 1887.

Realleocikon der indog ermanischen Altertums -
kunde. Strassburg, 1901.

Sprachvergleichung und Urgeschichte. Jena,
1906-7. (Eng. trans. by F. B. Jevons under
the title Prehistoric Antiquities of the Ar¬
yan Peoples . London, 1890).

Die Indogermanen. Leipzig, 1911.

The Origin of the Aryans, London, 1889.

Orion.

The Arctic Home in the Vedas.

CHAPTERS X1II-XV

Aryan Settlements in India and Traditional History
(For Original Sources see under General Bibliography.)

1. Banerji Sastri,
A.

•2. Bhand/.rkar,

D. R.

MODERN WORKS
Asura India , Patna, 1926.

“Aryan Immigration into Eastern India.”
ABORI, Xn, pp. 103-16.

545

THE VEDIC AGE

3. Bhandarkar,

D. R.

4. Bhandarkar,

D. R.

5. Chakladar,

H. C.

6. Chakladar,

H. 0.

7. Cunningham, A.

8. Das, A. C.

9. Dey, N. L.

10. Dikshitar,

V. R. R.

11. Dikshitar,

V. R. R.

12. Dutt, N. K.

18. Kjrfel, W.

14. Law, B. 0.

15. Law, B. C.

16. Pargiter, F. E.

17. Pargiter,

F.E.

IS. Pradhan,

S. N.

19. Rangacharya,

20. Stein, M. A.

21. Stein, M. A.

22. Woolner, A. C.

“Lectures on the Ancient History of India.”

Carmichael Lectures, 1918. Calcutta, 1919.
Some Aspects of Ancient Indian Culture . Mad¬
ras, 1940.

“Aryans in Eastern India in Rigvedic Age.”

MR, Jan. 1930, pp. 40-44.

“Eastern India and Aryavarta.” IHQ, IV, pp.
84-101.

The Ancient Geography of India. Ed. by S. N.

Majumdar. Calcutta, 1924.

Rigvedic India. Vol. I. Calcutta, 1921.

The Geographical Dictionary of Ancient and
Mediaeval India (second edn.). London, 1927.
“Anthropo-Geography of Vedic India.” JMU,
16, pp. 23-37.

“Aryanization of East India (Assam).” IHQ,
XXI, pp. 29-33.

Aryanization of India. Calcutta, 1925.

Das Parana Pahchalakshana. Bonn, 1927.
Rivers of India • Calcutta, 1944.

Tribes in Ancient India. Poona, 1943.

Ancient Indian Historical Tradition. London,
1922.

Dynasties of the Kali Age. London, 1913.

Chronology of Ancient India. Calcutta, 1927.

“Pre-Musalman India,” vol. H, Part I. Vedic
India . Madras, 1937.

“Indo-Iranian Borderlands.” JRAI, LXIV,
179-202.

“On Some River Names in the Rigveda.”
JRAS, 1917. pp. 91-9. * *

“The Rigveda and the Punjab.” BSOS, 6, 549-
54. *

CHAPTERS XII, XVI, XX and XXIV

Language and Literature

(See Histories of Literature under General Bibliography.)

1. Arnold, E.V.

2. Bloomfield,

3. Fttrst, A.

4. Hillebrandt,

5. Macdonell,

A. A.

6. WiisT, Walter.

Vedic Metre . Cambridge, 1905.

The Atharvaveda. Strassburg, 1899.

Der Sprachgebrauch der alteren XJpanishads.
Gottingen, 1915.

Ritual— Litteratur. Strassburg, 1897.

Vedic Grammar. Strassburg, 1910.

Stilgeschichte und Chronologic des fligveda.
Leipzig, 1928.

546

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CHAPTERS XVII, XXI, and XXV
Political and Legal Institutions
(For Original Sources see under General Bibliography.)

1. Bash, P.

2. Beni Piiasad.

3. Dikshitar,

V. R. R.

4. Ghosh al, lT. N.

5. Ghosh al, U. N.

C. Jayaswal,
K. P.

7. Jolly. J.

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Theory of Government in Ancient India. Alla¬
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Hindu Administrative Institutions. Madras,
1929.

.4 History of Hindu Political Theories. London,
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cutta, 1945.

Hindu Polity, Calcutta, 1924.

Recht und Sitte. Strassburg, 1896. (Eng. trans.
by Dr. B. K. Ghosh under the title: Hindu
Law and Custom. Calcutta, 1928,)

CHAPTERS XVIII, XXII, and XXVI
Religion and Philosophy

(For Original Sources see under General Bibliography.)

1. Barth, A.

2. Barua, B. M.

3. Bkrgaiune, A.

4. Bloomfield,

o. Das Gcfta,

Dr. S. X.

(i. Dkussen, P.

7. Decssen, P.

5. Delssen, P.

t>. Hilleurandt,

10. Hopkins.

E. W.

11. Keith, A. B.

12. Macdonell.

A. A.

13. Mon i Eli- Willi¬

ams, M.

14. Oldenberg, H.
1.7. Radhakiushnan.

Sir S.

1C. Ranade. R. D.

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A History of Pre-Buddhistic Indian Philosophy.
Calcutta, 1921.

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The Religion of the Veda. New York, 1908.

History of Indian Philosophy.

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cago, 1912.

Philosophic des Veda, Leipzig, 1894.

Die Philosophic der Upanishads. Leipzig, 1899.

(Eng. trans- Edinburgh, 1919 j
Vedische Mythologie . Breslau, 1891-1902.

The Religions of India. Boston, 1895.

Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upa¬
nishads. Cambridge, Mass, 1925.

Vedic Mythology. Strassburg, 1897.

Religious Thought and Life in India. London,
1891.

Die Religion des Veda. Berlin, 1894.

History of Indian Philosophy. 2 vols. London,
1923, 1927.

Constructive Survey of the Upanishadic Philo¬
sophy. Poona, 1926.

547

oo o ci

THE VEDIC AGE

CHAPTERS XIX, XXIII, and XXVII
Social and Economic Conditions

(For Original Sources see under General Bibliography.)

1. Aiyanoar, K. V.

Ranqaswami.

2. Altekar, A. S.

8. Apte, V. M.

4. Banerjee, S.

5. Basu, P.

6. Das, S.K.

7. Jolly, J.

8. Samaddar, J. N.

9. Sarkar, S. C.

Ancient Indian Economic Thought. Benares,
1934.

Education in Ancient India (second edn.),
Benares, 1944.

Social and Religious Life in the Grihya Sutras.
Ahmedabad, 1939.

Hindu Law of Marriage and Stridhana.
Tagore Law Lectures. Calcutta, 1896.

Indo-Aryan Polity. London, 1925.

Economic History of Ancient India. Calcutta,
1925.

Rechte und Sitte. Strassburg, 1896. (English
trans. by Dr. B. K. Ghosh under the title
Hindu Law and Custom. Calcutta, 1928.)

Economic Condition of Ancient India . Cal¬
cutta, 1922.

Some Aspects of the Earliest Social History
of India. London, 1928.

1. Baines, A.

2. Dutt, N. K.

3. Gait, E. A.

4. Ketkar, S. V.

. Muir, J.

. Oldenbero, H.
. Senart, E.

. Weber, A.

The Caste-System

Ethnography. Strassburg, 1912.

Origin and Development of Caste in India.

Vol. I. London, 1931.

“Caste” in ERE, III (1910).

The History of Caste in India. Ithaca, N. Y.

1909; London, 1911.

Original Sanskrit Texts, vol. I.

In ZDMG, LI, pp. 267-90.

Les Castes dans Vlnde. Paris, 1896.

Indische Studien , X.

548

APPENDIX

CHAPTER IX

In the absence oi any definite vestiges of a system of fortifica¬
tion in the Indus V aliey excavations so far, it was naturaliy assumed
that the Indus Valley civilization was politically and socially far
ahead oi the contemporary civilizations in the West, and had develop¬
ed “a democratic bourgeois economy M {ante, p. 170) devoid of citadel
rule. Recent excavations in Harappa, however, besides supplying
other valuable data, have shown that the Indus Valley civilization
had its fortifications and was as militant and centralized as any of
its day i Ancient India, No. 3, pp. 61 if.).

In the mound towards the West at Harappa, rising 50 feet above
the level of the plain, high projecting masses of decayed mud-brick
indicate the presence oi former defences. Recent digging’ has*
shown that a defensive wall with a basal width of 40 feet and a
height oi upwards of 35 feet, built of mud-bricks, stood on a great
rampart 10 to 20 feet high consisting of mud and debris with a mud-
brick core. The wail, externally revetted with a facing of baked
brick, was reinforced at intervals by rectangular towers or salients
representing an elaborate system of enfilade. There were probably
two gateways, one on the western side and the other at the
northern end; the latter representing the main entrance. The
defences fall into three main periods of construction: the original
baked brick revetment was rebuilt after a long period of weathering
and other damage, and the north-west corner was considerably
thickened. This new work was built w'ith complete bricks, unlike
the older work which was constructed largely of brickbats. During
the next period, the north-west corner was reinforced by an addi¬
tional salient, and two entrances of the western gate system were
wholly or partially blocked. Finally, roughly-built dwellings, con¬
structed above a layer of debris and associated with the intrusive
ceramic of a later period, came to occupy the western terraces.

The cuttings across the defences enable us to trace the origin,
development and decline of the Harappa culture. It appears that
after a preliminary occupation of the apparently unwalled town,
associated with a variant or alien culture, the Harappan people
built a citadel with imposing defences. These were reconditioned
after a considerable time during the heyday of the Harappa culture,
when craftsmanship was at its height. The period of decline is
seen in the further reinforcement of the reconstructed fortifications
and the blocking of a gateway, indicating that the city was on the
defensive. Finally, a part of the site, above layers of the debris,
was occupied by inhabitants of an alien culture.

The situation of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, pre-eminent among
numerous orchistoric sites between the Arabian Sea and the foot
of the Simla Hills, already indicated that the Harappa civilization
was of a centralized type similar to those in Sumer and Egypt. In

549

THE VEDIC AGE

both, the detached mound on the west is the highest and most im¬
posing in the site, roughly a parallelogram in shape, approximately
400 yards long and 200 yards wide. The mound at Mohenjo-daro
is known as the stupa mound and includes such remarkable struc¬
tures as the Great Bath, Collegiate Building, and the Pillared Hall,
which find no parallel elsewhere in these cities. It may reasonably
be assumed that the mound was a centre of religious or administra¬
tive life on a large scale. The counterpart of this mound at Harappa,
almost identical in size and orientation, is not a mere coincidence,
and the assemblage, in its close vicinity, of a serried line of barracks
or cooly quarters, working platforms and granaries, suggests a cen¬
tralized and disciplined citadel rule. Whether the government was
in the hands of a priestly order, as was often the case in Sumer, or
of a ruler of royal standing, it is not yet possible to say.

Dr. Acharya considers Mohenjo-daro, with its irregular shape,
to correspond with the Dronaka fortress of the Mdnasara’s plans
(B. C. Law Volume , Part II, p. 281). It is not yet definite whether
the fortifications surrounded the entire area of the town or were
confined only to the west. In the latter case, the probable reasons
may be that the important buildings were grouped on that side and
that the villagers feared attacks from the west.

Recent excavations of a cemetery of the Harappa culture present
yet another analogy between the cities of the Indus and the Euph¬
rates. The dead were buried in an extended position with their
heads towards the north and surrounded by large quantities of
pottery of normal Harappan type. Grave-pits were 10 to 15 feet
in length, 2\ to 10 feet in width, and were dug to a depth of from
2 to 3 feet from the contemporary surface. The grave furniture
occasionally included toilet objects, besides pottery and personal
ornaments. In some graves were found a few decayed animal bones
besides a human skeleton. There was one coffin-burial, at present
unique in India, but common at Ur, Kish and other places in Meso¬
potamia in the third millennium B.C. The skeleton, enclosed in
a reed shroud, was placed within a wooden coffin, 7 feet long and
2 to 2J feet wide. The presence of a lid is suggested by streaks of
sticky black substance running over the toes, and the use of pre¬
servatives is inferred from the light green substance found over
and around the body. This burial, no doubt, represents the custo¬
mary mode in Sumer during contemporary and previous epochs: but
it is not yet known whether this isolated burial was of an Indian or
of a Sumerian merchant in India-

It may be mentioned that Dr. Wheeler does not include ''post-
cremation burials” (ante, p. 193) as a method of the disposal of the
dead in the Indus Valley, “since.” according to him, ‘'there is no
evidence whatsoever that these have anything to do with human
burial” {Ancient India, No. 3, p. 83).

550

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY (1946-1948)

1 . Barua, B. M. “Indus Script, and. Tantric Code.” B.C. Law

Volume , Part II, pp. 461-7.

2. Barca, B. M. “Trends in Ancient history.” CR., Feb. 1946.

pp. 79-93.

3. Heras, H.

4. Mackay, E.

5. PiGGOTT, S.

0. PiGGOTT, S.

7. PCSALKER, A.D.

8. Wheeler,

R. E. M.

9. Wheeler,

R. E. M.

10. . W IJ ESEKERA ,

O.H. DE A.

Min- Kan. Bombay, 1947.

Early Indus Civilizations. London, 1948.

“The Chronology of Prehistoric North-West
India.” Ancient India, No. 1, pp. 8-26.

“A New Prehistoric Ceramic from Baluchis¬
tan*” Ancient India, No. 3, pp. 131-142.
“Mohenjo-dar.o and Rigveda.” Bharata-Kau-
mudi, Part II, pp. 551-63.

“India's Earliest Civilization; Recent Excava¬
tions in the Indus Basin.” 1LN , Aug. 10, 1946-
“Harappa, 1946: the Defences and Cemetery
R. 37”. Ancient India, No. 3, pp. 58-130-
“Rigvedic River-Goddesses and an Indus
Valley Seal.” Kunhan Raja Presentation
Volume , pp. 428-41.

Map 1

Map of India showing types of Forest Vegeiation and Botanical Regions of India

552

Vv#«

Map 2

553

70 7%.

INDEX

Abastanoi, 262

Abbevillian tools, 527, 130, 33-1
‘Abd ul-Qadir Budauni. 63
Abhimanyu, 307
Abhipratarin, 324
Abhlras, 303
Abhisara, 306

Absolute, the, 383; see also Bi'ahman

Abu. Mount, 82

Abu ’1-Fazl, 63

Abu Rihan: see Alberuni

Achaians, 212

Achculian industries, 127, 129-131, 134

Adam’s Bridge, 98

Adhisimakrishna, 273, 308. 324

Adhvaryu. 446, 308

Adinl. 126

Aclichanallur, 77

Aaiti, 190

Adittanallur, 141

Adityas, 366, 371

Aegean lands, 161

Afghanistan, archaeological sites, 78
plateau. 195
Africa, 105. 130
Agama and nigama, 162
Agastya(s), 292, 319
Aglod, 129
Agni. 366, 376-7
Agnidh, 508

Agriculture, in Brahmanas. 464-65
in Rigvedic age, 398-9
in Sutras, 530
proto-Australoids and, 153
Ahichclihatra, 73, 329
Ahiihsa, 169
Ahura, 225

Ahura Mazdah. 226, 36S
Aihole inscriptions, 54. 272
Aikshvaka dynasty, 276: sec also
Ikshvaku

Aikshvakufsl, 322
Aila dynasty, 276; se also Lunar
Dynasty

Aindra Mahabhisheka, 314
Aln-i-Akbarl, 63

Aitareya Brahmana, 311, 313, 329,
429-31, 435, 439-40, see also
Brahmanas

Aiyangar, P.T.S., 162, 165
Aiyangar, S. K., 264
Aja, 293
Ajamldha, 296
Ajanta caves, 66
frescoes, Negrito elements, 140
Ajas, 249, 251

Ajatasatru, 325, 328, 332, 499
Akbar, 51
Akbar-nama, 63
Akshavapa, 436
Alakananda, river, 87
Alarka, 290, 297

Alberuni, 62-3

Alexander the Great, 57, 60, 92
Ali Murad, 173, 199
Alinas, 249, 251
Allahbund, 90

Alluvial plains, N. India, 82-4
soils, 108
Alor, 199
Alpines, 144
Alpinoids, 145, 146
Amaravatl stupa, 76
Amavasu, 277
Ambala, 72

Ambarisha Nabhagi. 292
Ambashtfias, 262, 283, 306
Amphioxus, 120
Amreli, 75
Amri, 199
culture, 195. 196
Amsumant, 291, 292
Anamitra (father of Sini), 301
Anamitra (Sumitra), 301
Ananda (Brahma), 274
Anantapur, 188
Anantpur, 132, 134
Anarta, 280

Anava(s), 278, 281-3, 2S8. 302-4. 311
Eastern, 297

Ancient Monument Preservation Act
(1933), 74

Andaman Islands, 144-5, 149

Andamanese. 149

Andhaka, 301

Andhra (s), 102, 266

Anga(s), 260, 266, 283, 288. 207. 304.

306, 331-2
Ahgada, 295
Angami Nagas, 145
Angara, 283
Angirasas, 280, 291
Angkor Thom. 78
Angkor Vat, 78
Anhilpur, 75

Animal-worship, in Indus Valley civili¬
zation, 187, 191-2

Animals, in Indus Valley civilization,
177

Annam, Indian influence, 78

Ant-eater, scaly, 115

Anu(s), 249, 251, 256, 264. 27S. 310

Anukramanls, 478

Anuloma marriage, 515-16

Anuradhapura, 78

Anuvinda, 306, 330

Apachyas, 262

Apah, 366, 376

Apam-napat, 226, 366, 377

Apastamba. 480. 490. 519

Apava Vasishtha. 286

Apaya, .-river, . 2^(5

Apes9*fl4 . •

AprI hymns, 351-2

554

INDEX

Arab historians, 62-3
travellers, 61
Arabia, 216
Arabitai, 161
Arachosin, 253
Arakan Yoma, 92
Aranyakas, 239, 42-1-5, 451-2
Aravally, 186
range, 98
Arbitration, 440

Archaeology, Central Department of,
68, 72

Archer, W.G., 154
Arcot, 132
Arisirhha, 51
Arjiklya, river, 247
Arjunu, 300, 304, 305 R.

Arjuna Kartavlrya, 274, 284-5
Armenia, 209
Aimenoids, 144-5
Arrian, 262

Art, in Indus Valley civilization, 384 ff.
Arthropods, 121
Arum, 519
Aryabhata, 272
Aryavarta, extent, 317
Aryan invasion, date. 208
occupation, stages. 313 ff.
speech-family, 147
Aryans, and Dasa peoples, 159
indigenous origin theory, 220-1
and Indus Valley civilization. 1S6-7
in Mesopotamia and Syria. 222
original home. 206 fT.

Asamnhjas, 291
Asandlvant. 255, 257
Ascetics, 498-9
A.-.htaka. 289

Asiatic Society of Bengal, 66
Asiatic Society of London, Royal, 70
Asikni river, see Chcnab
Asita. 288

Asmaka(s), 298, 317, 323, 332
Asoka, 52-3, 70. 103
Asramas, 451, 479, 458-9
Assam, 52. 74, 145
earthquake, 89
megalithic monuments, 141
Assamese language, 170
Assemblies, popular, 356-7, 433. 488
Assyrians. 254
Astika, 324
Asuras, 254, 318
Asura-gods, 223, 224-5
Asvamedhadatta, 324
Asvapati Kekeya. 324. 473
Asvatthaman. 304, 307
As v ins, 366, 372-3, 398
Atharvaveda, 153, 229, 336-7, 349-50.
431. 434

contents, 411-9
language, 410-11
medicine in, 463
religion in, 442-4
Atmakur-Domala pass, 133
Atman. 473-4. 499-502
Atris. 280-1, 287
Atthis. 161
Attirampakam, 133

I AUock district, 134
« Australia, 145, 150

Australoids, proto-, see Proto-
Australoids

Austric speech-family, 147, 150-6
Austro-Asiatic languages, 150
Austronesian languages, 150
Austronesians, 145
Avanti(s), 102, 287, 306, 328-30
Avantipur, 73

Avesta, 225-6, 337, 364, 369, 391
Avikshit, 291
Axes, Bronze Age, 139
hand, 130-2
Ayas, 138, 401
Ayasya, 291’

Ayodhya, 277, 279, 280-2, 286-8, 290-1 .

292-3, 326
Ayu, 277

Babblers, 116
Babur, 63, 107
Babylon, 209
Bactria, Greek rulers, 57
Eadarayana, 502
Baghelkhand, 98
Baghmatl, river, 92
Bahadarpur, 130

Bahawalpur, archaeological sites, 75

Bahikas, 262

Bahllka(s), 263, 299

Eiihu, 288, 290

Bairat, 75

Bajra, 112

Balachandra, 51

Balanoglossus, 120

Balarama, 302, 306

bali, 358, 437

Bali, 288, 292

Rallala 49

Baluchistan, 71, 77, 157, 200
(West), earthquake, 89
plateau, 92, 95
Bamboos, 110
Banabhatta, 49
Banaganapali, 85
Banerji, P.N., 264
Eanerji, R.D., 71
Bangarh, 74
Banyan, 113
Barabudtu*, 78
Barbets, 116

Barhadratha dynasty, 300, 323 ff.

Barley, 112

Barren Island, 89

Barth. 153

Basarh, 69

Bashkala recension of ^tigveda, 230
Bath, Great, at Mahenjo-Daro, 176-7 :
192

Batrachians, 118
Bats, 115

Baudhayana, 480, 519

Beaches, raised, 89

Beads, from Mohenjo-Daro, 188

Beas, river, 87, 95, 246

Beech-argument, 217

Bees, 120

Begram, 79

555

THE VEDIC AGE

Bellsuy, 132

Benaras, 98, 199, 282, 297, 331; sec also
Kasi

Bengal 95, 102
archaeology, 74
Dravidian element, 158
earthquakes, 89
influence on Burma,- 78
palaeological finds, 132
Bengali language, 170
Bernihalla, river, 132
Benveniste. Prof., 211. 226. 227
Bergaigne, 232
Bcsnagar, 74
Betwn, river, 95
Bhadrasrenya, 282
Bhagadatta, 306
Bhagadugha, 435
Bhagavad-GIta. 164
BhagTratha, 292
BhagirathI, 95
Bhaiamana, 301
Bhekti, 119
Bhalandana, 280
Bhalanases. 249, 251, 254
Bhandarkar, 254
Ehanrer range. 98
Bharadvaja, 292, 296
Bharata (brother of Rama). 294-5
Bharata (son of Dushyanta), 296
Bharata of Hastinapura. 274
Bharatas. 249-50, 256, 266
Bharata war, 304 ff.

date, 272-4
EhT'.rntnvarsha, 107
Bharatl Santati, 107
Bhargavas. 280, 283
Bharbut, 68
Bhatliya, 332
Bhnvnasi. 133
Phils, 101
Bhlma. 300, 304 ff.

Bhima Satvata. 295. 297
Bhlmarntha. 297
Bhir mound. 70
BhTsluna. 298-300, 307
Bhita. 69
Bhoja(sl. 287
Bhojaprabandha, 49
Bhrigus. 2S0, 283-4
Bhrimyasva, 297
Bhruna, 494
Bhutan, 145
Bhutara, 130
Bibhlshana, 295

(North), earthquake. 89
palaeological finds. 132
Bijapur, 75, 132

Bikaner, archaeological sites. 75

Bilhana. 49

Billa Su rgam. 85

Bimbisarn. 327-3. 332

Birds, 115-7

Black cotton soil, 10S

Bloch. Dr., 69

Bloch, Jules. 151

Blonde hair, 214

Bloomfield, 237, 239. 241, 260, 365
Boa. 118

Boats, in Rgvcda, 400
Bodh Gaya, 68
Boghaz-kiii, 209, 224, 226
Bolan Pass, 93

Bombay, palaeological finds, 131
submerged forest, 90 *
province, archaeological sites, 75
Borivli, 131
Bos primigenius, 85
Botanical areas, 109
Boulder Conglomerate, 125-6, 133
Brachycephals, 144, 145
Brahmacharin, 459, 498, 521
Brahmadatta, 298, 326-7, 329, 331-2
Brahmagiri, 76, 135, 137
• Brahman, 378, 444, 448, 473-4 499-501
Brahman (priest), 446
Brahmanas (texts), 229, 238-9
contents, 422-4
language. 420-2
religicn in, 446-51
social life in, 453 ff.

Brahmanas (caste) and Aryan expan¬
sion in S. India, 319
in Brahmanas, 455-6
in Dharmasutras, 488-9
in Upanishads, 471
in Sutras, 514

Brahmana families, 2S0-1. 291-2. 29S
tradition, 309 ff.

Brahmaputra river, 95
ancestry, 86
deflections, 90
source, 93
vailey, 92

Brahmarshi-desa. 220
Brahinl script, 53, 59, 67. 194, 395
Brahui, 157, 197, 206 1
Brandenstein, W., 210, 215-16
Brandstetter. R\, 151
Bricks, at Mohenjo-daro, 173-4
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, 315, 434,
474. 500. 501

Brihadbala. 304. 306. 325
Brihadratha, 300
Brihaduktha, 329
Brihadvasu, 296
Brihaspati. 366, 377
British Museum, 76
Bronze, use in Indus. Valley civilization.
188-9

Brown, J. Coggin. 129
Brunnhofer, 248
Buck, black, 115
Buddhism. 61. 498
in Afghanistan, 18
in Burma, 77
at Taxila. 70

Buddhist sites, archaeological. 69
Madras, 76
Buffalo, early, 84
Biihler. 395

Buildings, of Indus Valley civilization,
173-6: see also Houses
Bulbul. 116

Bundelkhand, 98, 102. 131
Bundi, 129
Buntings. 116
Burgess, Dr., 68

INDEX

Burial customs, Iran and India, 227
Indus Valley, 192
Burials, mesolithic, 136
Burkitt, 133

Burma, archaeology in, 77
Burzahom, 137, 140
Buxar, 199
Buzzard, 117

Caland, W., 238
Calcutta, 95
earthquake, 89

University, Excavations by, 74
Caldwell, Bishop, 161
Cambay, Gulf of, 97-8
Cambodia, 78
Camel, 85
Cammiade, 133
Campignian culture, 135
Canning, Lord, 68
Canoes, 150
Cappadocia, 208-9, 211
Cardamom hills, 96, 97, 102
Carnivora, 114
Carp, 119

Carpentry, in Rigveda, 401.

Carts, in Indus Valley civilization, ISO
in Rigveda, 402
Caste, in Brahmanas, 453-6
and criminal law, 515
in Avestas, 391
in Rigveda, 387-90, 400
in Sutras, 513-16
Castes, mixed, 515
Castor oil, 113
Catfish, 119
Cattle, 114
in Brahmanas, 464
early. 84
in Rigveda, 398-9
in Sutras, 529-30
Caucasus, 140
Cauvery, river see Kavexi
Cave-dwellers, 84-5
Celts, in Asia Minor, 211
neolithic, 137
Central Highlands, 96
India, archaeological sites, 74
Central India plateau, 96, 98-9
Provinces, archaeological sites, 73
Centum-satem split, 211
Cereals, 112
Cerebrals, 337
Ceylon, 98, 162
archaeological sites, 78
Rama in, 295
Chachnama, 51
Chakladar, 247
Chakshusha, 275
Chalukyas, 59, 103
Chambal, river, 95
Chameleon, 118
Champa, 290, 297
Champa, 78. 297, 325, 332
Chand Bardai, 49
Chanda, 260

Chanda, Kama Prasad, 143
Chanda Pradyota, 328
Chandala speech, 156
Chandalas, 253

Chand ana, 332
Chandi Lara-Jongnang, 78
Chandi Sewu, 78
Chandrabila, 332
Chandrabhaga, river, see Chenab
Chandragupta Maurya, 104
Chandraketu, 295
Chandra vali, 7®

Chanhu-daro, 174, 179, 186, 195-6, 199

Chaomukh, 126

Charpentisr, Jarl, 163

Charsadda, 69

Chatterjee. 109

Chattisgarh plain, 97

Chaulukyas, 51

Chauntra industry, 128-9

Chedi(s),'252} 288, 300, 306

Cheetah, 114

Chellean took, 131

Chenab, river, 87, 95, 246-7

Chen-taniizh, 158

Chera(s), 102, 261

Chhandogya Upanishad, 325, 438, 473,
474-5, 500. 519
Chhandas-Vedanga, 483
Chin Hills, 92
Chinese travellers, 61-62
Chingleput, 132-3
Chinkara, 115
Chital, 119
Chitoor, 132

Chitpavan Brahmans, 146
Chitral, 146
Chitral, river, 93, 146
Chitrafigada, 300
Chitraratha, Yadava, 27 8
Chittagong Hills, 145
Chittang, river, 246
Chola, 103, 317 .

Chola inscriptions, 54
kings, 105
Chorda tes, 120
Chota Nagpur, 102
plateau. 96, 98
Chousingna, 115
Christensen, 224
Chuda-karman, 527
Chunir, 99
Chyavana, 457

Chyavana Panchajara, 311, 312
C lac toman tools, 127, 128, 131
Classes, social, in Indus Valley civili¬
zation, 183
Cleanliness, 524. 529
Climate, 108
effects, 106
Clothing, see Dress
Cobra, 118
Coconut, 113, 150
oil, 113

Coelenterates, 121
Coffee, • 113
Coimbatore Gap, 98
Coins, 57-9. 64, 68, 465, *31
Colgong, m
Collins, Mark, 163, 167
Colonies, Indian, 105-6
Columella shell, 188
Comilla, 74

! Communion, in sacrifice, 506

557

V- A •——36

THE VEDIC AGE

Comorin, Cape, 98
Condiments, 113
Conti, Nicolo de\ 64
Coorg, 146
Copper age, 138*40
Coppersmith, Indian, 116
Corals, 121
Cormorant, 117
Coromandel coast, 89, 97
Cosmetics, in Indus Valley civilization,
178*9

in Sutras, 528
Cosmogonic myths, 153
Cosmogony, Vedic, 383
Cotton, 108, 113
Counting system, 167
Cow, cult of, 166, 399, 464, 530
Cowries, 120
Cranes, 117
Creation, 383-4, 449
Crete, 161, 182, 201
Crocodiles, 118
Crops, 111-3, 529
Crows, 115
Crustaceans, 120
Crystalline soils, 106
Ctesias, 60
Cuckoo, 117
Cuddapah, 132, 133

Cult, proto-Australoid elements, 153-4
Cult-words, Indo Iranian, 225
Cultivable land, area, 111
Cultivated plants, 111*3
Cultivation, proto-Australoids and, 151
Culture elements, Dravidian, 160 ff.
Negrito, 149
proto-Australoid, 150-3
Cultures, language and racial, 147
Cunningham, Gen. Alexander, 68
Cup-marks, 138
Currency, 399, 465, 531
Curzon, Lord, 68
Cutch, earthquake, 89
Kann of, 87-8, 99
submergence, 90
Cybele, 161

Dabar Kot, 199
Dadhivahana, 325, 331-2
Daftars, 65
Dahae, 253
Daityas, 317-8
Daviva-gods, 224-5
Daji, Dr. Bhau, 68
Dama. 296
Damon, 131
Danastutis, 351, 355 ff.

Danavas, 317-8
Dancing, 396, 460, 525
Daxkdaka, 279, 294
Danube Valley, 140
Dasarajna, 246, 247, 249-50, 274, 311,
312, 314, 350
Da&aratha, 296-4, 297
Dasas, 159, 253*4, 317, 357-8
Dasarna, 306

Dasyus, 159, 253-4, 317-8, 357-8
Datta Atreya, 292
Davids, T. W. Rhys, 264
Dayal, 116

Dead, cult of, 504
Debts, 360-1

Deccan, archaeological sites, 75
College Research Institute, 75
colonization of, 317, 319
drainage ' pattern, 86
plateau, 96-8, 102-3
Deciduous flora, 110
Decimal system, 181
Deer, 115
Delhi, 101
earthquake, 89
Deltas, Ganges and Indus, 83
Delwad, 129

Demons, in Rigveda, 379
Deopara, 54

Desert, Rajputana, 87-8
De Terra, H., 82, 129, 130, 137
expedition. 72
Deussen, 499, 502
Devapi, 299, 491
Devaraj Vasish{ha, 292
Devarata, see Sunahsepa
Devavridha, 301
Deviki, river, 220
Dharma, 434, 511
Dharmarajika stupa, 70
Dharma-sutras, 479, 487 ff., 506
Dharshtakas, 276
Dharwar district, 132
Dhaulagiri, 91
Dhok Pathan, 128
Dhrishta, 279
Dhrishtadyumna. 298, 307
Dhritarashtra, 300, 305
Dhruva, 274-5
Dibang, river, 95
Dicing, 436, 461, 525
Diet, of Indus Valley peoples, 177
see also Food
Dighayu, 326
Dighiti, 326-7
Dihang, river, 95
Dikshit, Rao Bahadur, 194
Dill pa H, 293
Dinaric race, 145-6
Dipper, Brown, 117
Dlrghatamas, 291*2
Divakara, 325

Divisions of country, in Vedic litera
tore, 256

Divodasa, 250, 297, 311
Doah, Ganges-Brahmaputra, 94
Ganges - J umna , 95
Indus-Jhelum, 125
Dog, and mesolithic burials, 136
Domestication of animals, 85
Drainage system, Indus Valley, 176
Drama, 396, 460, 525
Draupadi, 305

Dra vidian speech-family, 147
Dravidians, 144, 145, 157 ff.

and Indus Valley civilization, 197
Dress, in Brahmanas, 462-3
in Sutras, 527-8
in Vedic age, 397
of Indus Valley peoples, 177
Drishadvatl, river, 246
Driti, 324

Drorta, 298, 304, 307

558

INDEX

Druhyu(s), 249, 251, 256, 278, 282-3,
310, 311, 312
Drummond, 134
Drupada, 298, 304, 307, 329
Dry forests, 110
Ducks, 117
Duhsa&ana, 307
Durdama, 282
Durmukha, 329
Duryodhana, 304 ft.

Dushtarltu Paumsayana, 433
Dushyanta, 274, 296
Dust-storms, 127
Dvapara age, 298, 316
Dvaravatl, 78
Dvimldha, 296, 311
Dvimukha, 329
Dvyasraya-kavya, 49
Dyaus, 366, 367
Dyavaprithiva, 368

Eabani, 191
Eagle, 117
Earth Mother, 160
movements, 89-90
Earthquakes, 88-9
East Indies, 105
Echinoderras, 121
Education, in Brahmanas, 458-60
in Rigveda, 394-5
in Sutras, 519-24
Eggeling, 255, 447
Egypt, 182

and Indus Valley civilization, 200
Ekachakra, 255
Elam, 182, 194
El-Amama, 209
Elephant, 114, 221
in Indus Valley civilization, 189
Elephanta caves, 66
Eliot, 264

Elliot and Dowson, 63
Enkidu, 191
Eranvej, 222-3
Eshnunna, 195
Ethics, see Morality
Evans, Sir Arthur, 168
Everest, Mount, 91
Evergreen flora, 109-10
Evil eye, 153

Fabri, Dr., 196
Fa-hien, 61

Faience, in Indus Valley, 189
Falcon, 117

Family, in Brahmanas, 453
in Rigveda, 301, 387
in Sutras, 512 ft.

Fatehgarh, 139
Father Gods, 161
Fauna, palaeolithic, 127
Fergusson, 68
Fibre crops, 113
Ficus, cult of, 149
Figurines, Indus Valley, 183
Finnish language, 212
Finno-Ugrian speech family, 155, 157,
216

Fire, domestic, 503, 512
sacrificial, 377, 380, 507-8

Flruz Shah Tughluq, 53, 66
Fishes, 119-20

Five Rivers of Punjab, 86-7, 94-5
Flake industries, 126 ff.

Flat fish, 119
Fliet, 272

Flood, Great, 274, 275-6
Flor, 216
Fly-catchers, 116
Flying fish, 120
Food, in Brahmanas, 461-2
in Sutras, 525-6
in Vedic age, 396
Foote, Bruce, 75, 129, 132-4
Forests, 109-11
Forts, 359

Fortuna toy's law, 339.

Frankfort, Henri, 195
Freshwater vegetation, 111
Friedrich, J., 210
Frogs, 118
Fruits, 113

Funeral hymns, Vedic, 352-3
Furniture, in Brahmanas, 467
Indus .Valley, 179
in -Upanishaas, 500-1
Future life, in Brahmanas, 449-50
in Rigveda, 384

Gabrs, 146
Gadawara, 84
Gadd, Dr,, 196
Gadhi, 284, 288-9
Galataeans, 211

Gambling, 396; see also Dicing
Game birds, 117

Games, in Indus Valley civilization.
179

Gana, 355

Gandak, river, 87, 92, 95, 255
Gandhara, 283, 306, 311, 313, 324, 332
Gandharis, 252, 263
Gandharva. 226
Ganesa, 165

Gahga, river, in Rigveda, 246; see alsc
Ganges

Ganges, river, 95, 98, 104
Bhaglratha and, 292
origin, 86-7
reversal of flow, 86
valley, 102

„ „ Bronze Age finds, 138-4(
Ganjam, 132
GargI Vachaknavi, 520
Gargya, 314
Gargya Balaki, 499
Gariala, 126
Garo hills, 91
Garuda, 166
Gastropods, 120.

Gath&s, 207, 224-7
Gauda, 102
Gaudavaho, 49
Gauri, river, 247
Gauri Sankar, see Everest
Gautama, 4 88, 490, 492
Gayatrt, 370, 395
Gazelle, 115

Geldner, 250, 252, 257, 432

559

THE VEDXC AGE

Genealogies, Vedic and P uranic, 310 if.
Germanic home theory of Indo-Euro¬
peans, 213-4
Ghadhara, 120
Ghaggar, river, 246
Gharial, 118
Ghatotkacha, 307

Ghats, Eastern and Western, 96-7
Ghazi Shah, 199
Ghazipur, 199
Gibbon, ,114
Giddalur, 133
Giles, 214
Gilgit, 146
river, 94
Girivraja, 327
Glaciers, Himalayan, 82
Glass, in Indus Valley civilization, 189
Goats, 115
Godana, 528

Godavari river, 84, 97, 102
Gods, classification, 365-7
Dravidian elements, 163 ft.

Father and Mother, 160
Gogra, river, 95

Gold, use in Indus Valley civilization,
188

Gomal, river, 93, 246-7
Gomati, river, 246-7
Gondi, 157

Gopatha Brahmana, 311
Gordon, Major, IBS
Gorkhaii, 170
Gotra, 454
Gotze, 210, 211
Graeco-Bactdans, 57
Gram, 108, 112
Grama, 359

Gramanl, 435, 455, -492-3
Grebes! 117
Greek language, 212
Grierson, 264
Griffith, 246
Grihastha, 498

Grihya-sutras, 479-81, 502 ft.
Ground-nuts, 112
Grouse, sand, 117
Guebres, 146
Guha, B. S., 144, 147,

Gujarat, 51, 56, 75, S3-4, 88, 99, 146
monolithic culture, 134-6
.Northern, 102
palaeolithic man, 129-30
Prehistoric Expedition, First, 129
Gujo, 199

Gulshan-i-Ibrahlmi, 63
Gumti, river, 95
Gundla Bhrameshvaram, 133
Gungeria, 139
Guntert, H., 214
Guntur, 132

Gupta art, Negrito elements, 149
Guptas, coins, 58
pottery, 73
Gwalior, 99
archaeology in, 74

Hadda, 78
Hadol, 129

Haihaya(s), 278, 282-5. 286-8, 291, 323,
329-30

Hair styles, in Indus Valley civiliza¬
tion, 178, 200
in Vedic age, 397
Hakra, 75
Halakundi, 132
Hall, 212

Hamilton, Dr. Buchanan, 66
Hammira-kavya, 49
Hammiramada-mardana, 51
Hanuman monkey, 114
Hanumant, 166-7
Haoma cult, 227, 378
Harappa, 59, 71-2, 158, 160, 172 ft., 247
see also Indus Valley civilization
“Harappa culture,” 195-6
Hardwar, 95

Harischandra, 274, 239-90
Harivamsa, 314
Hariyuplya, 247
Haro, river, 125
Harpoons, Bronze Age, 140
Harsha-charita, 49
Harsha-vardhana, 50, 61
Harwan, 72

Haryasva, 282 - —

Hastin, 296

Hastinapura, 256, 257, 296, 307, 324-5

Hawk, 117

Heine-Geldem, 140

Hemachandra, 49

Hemp, 113

Henotheism, 365, 382
Hepit, 161
Heras, Rev. H., 158
Herat, 93

Herodotus, 60, 161, 227
Heron, 117
Herring, 119
Hertel, 248

Herzfeld, E., 209-10, 222
Hevesy, V/., 155
Hill forests, 110
Hillebrandt, 223, 231, 251-53
Hilsa, 119
Himalayas, 91-95
and eaithquakes, 89
Ice Age in 82-3

Hlnayana Buddhism, in Burma, 77

Hindu Kush, 91, 93

Hindustan, Plain of, 94-5

Hiranyanabha, 327

Hirpura, 129, 135

Hirt, 209, 211-2

Hittite language, 210-1

Hittites. 208 ft., 222

Hiuen Tsang, 47-8, 52, 61, 329

Hog, 115

Homa, 163

Hoofed animals, 114

Hooghly, 95

Hooker, 109

Hoopoe, 116

Hopkins, 248, 251

HornbiU, 116

Horse, 114

and Indus Valley civilization, 198

560

INDEX

Hospitality, in Brahmanas, 453
in Rigveda, 387
in Sutras, 524
Ho^ri, 446, 508

Household implements, Indus Valley,
179

Houses, in Indus Valley culture, 174-5
in Brahmanas, 467
in Rigvedic age, 402
in Sutras, 531
Huna inscriptions, 70
Hunter, Dr., 135, 186
Hunting, in Brahmanas, 466
in Rigveda, 401
Hiising, 248
Hutton, J. H., 143
Huvishkapura, 73

Hyderabad (Deccan), archaeological
sites, 177

palaeolithic man, 131
Hyderabad (Sind), 199
Hypergamy, 454, 457, 515

Ibis, 117
Ibn Batuta, 64
Ice Age, 81

Ikshvaku(s), 76, 258-60, 276-7, 325-7
Ila, 276

Immortality, 450

Implements,' of Indus Valley culture,
182

Indargarh, 129
Indigo, 113
Indo-China, 78, 105
Indo-Europeans, original home, 206 ff.
Indo-European speech family, 147, 205
Indo-Iranians, early traces, 208 ff.
original home, 222
relations, 222-7
Indonesia, 78, 150
Indonesian speech, 151
Indra, 225-6, 353, 367, 373-4
Indraprastha, 305, 324, 331
Indrota Daivapa Saunaka, 314
Indus, river, 94-5
origin, 86-7
source, 94
Indus valley, 71

Indus Valley culture, 71, 72, 172, ff.;
see also Mohenjodaro
authors of, 196-7
connections, 199-201
decline, 201
extent, 199-200
script, 193-4, 206-7
survivals, 200

Industries, in Vedic age, 400-1

Inheritance, in Sutras, 496-7

Injra, 126

Insectivores, 115

Insects, 120

Interest rates, 497

Inter-Glacial I, 125

Invaders, Indian reaction to, 106-7

Invertebrates, 120-1

Ippatam, 133

Iran, early, see Indo -Iranians
plateau of, 91-2
Irrigation, in Rigvedic age, 403

Irulas, 145
Isila, 76
I-tsing, 61

Ivory, use in Indus Valley culture, 189

Jacana, 117
Jackdaw, 115
Jacobabad, 199
Jahangir, 63
Jahnu, 282, 299
Jaina-Rajataraiiginl, 52
Jaintia hills, 91
Jaipur, 129

archaeological sites, 74-5
Jala Jatukamya, 489
Jamadagni, 274, 281, 284-5, 316
Jamalgarhi, 72
Jammu, 125
Jana, 359-60

Janaka(s), 259, 279, 330-1, 459-60, 473,
‘ 519

Janamejaya, 278
Janamejaya Durbuddhi, 298
Janamejaya Parlkshita, 314-5, 324, 330,
332-3

Jarasandha, 301, 302, 305, 314, 32T
Jatakas, 156
Jaulian, 70
Java, 78

Jaxartes, river, 222, 247
Jay, Blue, 116
Jayachandra, 264
Jayadhvaja, 287
Jayadratha, 306
Jayasirhha, 49, 51
Jha, Ganganath, 220
J hangar culture, 195-6
Jhelurn, river, 87, 92, 95, 246-7
Jhukar, 199
culture, 195, 196
Jonaraja, 51

Jones, Sir William, 66, 205
Jowar, 108, 112
Jumna, river, 87, 95
Jungle fowl, 117

Justice, administration of, 360, 433,
437 ff., 493 ff.

Jute, 113

Jyotisha-vedanga, 482

Kabul, river, 93, 247
Kadars, 145
Radur, 132
Kagzi, 185

Kailasa, Mount, 94, 95, 255

Kaimur range, 98

Kaisika, 288, 297

Kakshasena, 324

Kala, 444

Kaiara, 330

Kalawan, 70

Kalhana, 49-51, 72, 272

KaU age see Kaliyuga

Kali Sindh, river, 95

Kalihga(s), 102, 283, 288, 306, 323, 332

Kalinjar, 99

Kaliyuga era, 272-4, 308, 316, 323
Kalla, L. D., 220

561

THE'VEDIC AGE

Kallar, 125-6
Kallur, 139
Kalmashapada, 293
Kalnagini, 118
Kalpa-sutras, 478-81

Kamboja(s), 262-4, 318, 332
Kambuja, 78
Kampil, 256
Kamplla, 256, 329
Kampilya, 329

Karhsa (Yadava king), 301, 302
Kariisa (king of Kosala), 327
Kanarcse script, 53
Kanchanjangha, 91
Kandahar, 93
Kandivli, 131
Kangra, earthquake, 89
Kanheri caves, 66
Kanishka, 50, 69
Kaniyampundi, 141
Kannada country, 145-6, 157
Kanyakubja, 276, 278, 281-2, 287-9
Karakoram range, 82, 94
Karala Janaka, 330
Karandhama, 291
Karandikar, 286
Karatoya, river, 255
Karjan, river, 130
Karkotaka Naga, 287
Karkotnagar, 75
Karman, 385, 474, 500
Kama, 303, 306-7
Karnali, river, 87
Kamata, 102
Karnatak, 75, 132
Kartavirya, 284
Karuna, 169
Karusha(s), 276, 306
Kashmir, 49-51, 220
archaeological sites, 72
earthquake, 89
glaciation 82
plateau, 92
K&sia, 69

Kasi(s), 258-9, 278, 282, 287, 289-90,
297, 306, 323, 326, 331
Kassites, 209
Kasu, 355

Kasyapa(s), 280, 285, 292
Kathaka Upanisnad, 501
Kathiawar, 58, 88, 99
Katmandu, 92
Katyayana, 317, 422, 478
Kaundinyapura, 261
Kauravas, 299, 304 ff.

KausambI, 73, 256, 258, 324-5
Kaushltaki Upanishad, 501
Kavasha, 457

Kavasha Ailusha, 312, 314
Kaverl, river, 97, 102
Keith, A. B., 210, 236, 248, 308-9, 408,
431, 505

Kekaya(s), 262-3, 283, 306
Ken,, river, 95
Kerala, 317
Kesins, 262-3
Khafaje, 178
Kharoshthl script, 53

j Khasi hills, 91, 108
Khatvanga, 293
j Khila-suktas, 230
! Khirthar mountains, 91, 93
Khunder, river, 133
Khushalgarh, .126
Khyber Pass, 93
KIka$as, 252-3
Kikkuli, 208.

Kimpurushas, 280
King crow, 116
Kingfisher, 116
Kings, 355 ff.
election, 432
in Dharmasutras, 488-9
in later Samhitas, 430-1
succession, 356
Kingship, origin, 429-30
Kiratas, 170, 253, 306, 318
Kirghiz steppe, 215
Kirtikaumudi, 51
Kish, 178, 182, 188
Kistna, river, sec Krishna
Kite/ 117
Kittel, 167
Knowledge, 501
Koel, 117
Kohi Sultan, 89
Kohtras, 173
Kolar, 188
Kolhapur, 75
Kols, 101, 160
speech, 147, 151-6
type, 150
Kondapur, 75
Konkan, 97, 132
Konow, S-ten, 254
Kora, 117

Korttalaiyar valley, 133
Kosala (s), 102, 258-9, 2S6. 237, 294, 306
317, 325-6, 331
Kosaladevi, 327
Kosam, 256, 325
Kosi, river, 87, 92, 95
Kot, 129
Kotivarsha, 74
Kotla Nihang Khan, 199
Krait, 118 ,

Kratha (Bhima), 288, 297

Kratus, 280

Krauncha, 255

Krimi, 283

Kximila, 233

Kripa, 304, 307

Krisanu, 226

Krishna, 165, 301-3, 316, 320
Krishna, 133
river, 97. 102, 133
river, valley, 76
Krishnapuram, 133
Krishnaswami, V.D., 133
Krita age, 316
Kritakshana, 330
Kritavarma, 301, 306
Kritavarman, 306-7
Kritavlrya, 284, 286
Kriti, 330
Krivis, 257
Krosh(ri, 278

INDEX

Krumu, river, 246-7
Kshatriya tradition, 309 ft.

Kshatriyas, annihilation by Kama, 285,
287

and colonization, 318-9
in Brahmanas, 455, 514
in Upanishiads, 472-3
Kshemaka Rakshasa, 282
Kshemaka of Kausambi, 325
Kshudraka, 306
Kubha, river, 247-8
Kui, 157
Kukura, 302
Kula, 359, 453
Kuliana, 131
Kulli, 199

Kumaon, glaciation in, 82
Kumarapala, 49, 51
Kumarapala-charita, 49
Kunar, river, 146
Kundikeras, 287
Kundina, 261
Kunt5, 300, 301
Kuntis, 266
Kurnool, 133, 134
caves; 85

Kurram, river, 93, 246-7
Kuru(s), 250, 257, 266, 299, 307, 314-5,
323 ff„ 431
Kurujahgala, 29 9 •

Kurukshetra, 266, 299, 307
Kusa, 295, 300, 304
Kusadhvaja, 295
Kusharias, coins, 58
pottery, 72
Kusika, 288
Kusinagara, 69
Xuvalasva, 279

Lac insects, 121

Ladakh, glaciation, 82

Lakshmana, 294-5

Land-grants. 54, 440

Land ownership, 361, 438-40

Langhnaj, 75, 135, 137

Langur, 114

Lark, 116

Lassen, 248, 261

Lata, 102

Laterite, 85-6, 108

Lauhitya, river, 95

Lava, 295

Lavana, 297

Law, Dr., 279, 326

Law, in Dharmasutras, 487 ft.

Legends, pre-Aryan, 168

Lemurs, 114

Lentils, 112

Leopard, 114

Levalloisian tools, 127-8, 133
Level, changes of, 89-90
Ltvi, Sylvain, 151-3
Linga, 165, 191
Lingadahalli, 132
Linseed, 108, 112
Lion, 114, 221

Lithuanian language, 206, 212, 221
Littoral vegetation, 111
Lizards, 118

Locusts, 120
Lohumjo-daro, 199
Lorn a pad a, 288, 294, 297
Loris, 114

Ludwig, 246, 247, 249, 252, 356, 407
Luhit, river, 95

Lunar dynasty, 277-8, 282-3, 288-90,
296-8, 310
Lushai hills, 92
• Luvian, 210
Lycians, 161

Ma, 161

McCrindle, J. W., 61
Macdonell, A. A., 310, 371
! Mackay, E. J. H., 176, 181-2, 196, 198
Mackerel, 119
Madhu, 293, 297 , 462
Madhupur jungle, 90
Madhyadesa, 73
Madra, 306
Madrakas, 283
i Madras (tribe), 262

Madras presidency, archaeological
sites, 76

palaeological finds, 132
Madri, 300
Madura X32

Magadha, 102, 300, 306, 317, 323, 327-8,
332

Magadhas, 259, 266
Magic, in Atharvaveda, 442-3
in sacrifice ritual, 504 ft., 509-10
Magpies, 116

Mahabharata, 48, 168, 272-3, 277, 285,
304 ff., 310 If., 324-5
war, 201

Mahadeo hills. 96, 135
Mahakosala, 325-7
Mahamanas, 282
Mahanadi river, 97
Mahapadma Nanda, 273, 329
Maharashtra, 75, 102
Mahasthana, 74
Mahavrata, 447
Mahavrishas, 262-3
Mahayana Buddhism in Burma, 78
Mahl, river, 99
Mahishmant, 282
Mahishmatl, 282, 286, 306
Mahmud of Ghazni, 62
Maikal range, 96, 98
Mainaka, 255
Mainamati hill, 74
Maithilas, 323, 331
MaitTayaniya Upanishad, 501
Maitreya Soma, 311
Maitri, 169

MaiM 112

Majumdar, N. G., 173, 199
Makhad, 126
Makran coast, 93
Malabar, 146
coast, 89, 97
Malakpur, 125
I Malaprabha river, 132
| Malava(s), 58,75, 103,306
I Malay Peninsula, Indian influences, 78

563

THE VXDIC AGE

Malaya, 105
Negritos in, 148-9
Malay&lara country, 145
Malinl, 288
Mallika, 327
Malwai •plateau, 98, 102
Mammals, 1X4-5
migrations of. 85
M anaar, Gulf of, 98
Manas®. Sarov&ra, 25
Mannaarowar, lake, 94
Manasaaarovara, lake, 94
M&nchar, lake, 173
Maadhatfi, 274-6, 279, 281-3, 311
Manern valley, 133
Mango-bird, 116
Mango-fish, 119
Mangrove, forests, HI
Manipur plateau, 91
Maniyar Ma|h 71
Manley, 134
Manslaughter, 495
Maim R&ivata, 274
M&nu Svarochisha, 274
Manu Svayambhuva, 274
Manu Tamasa, 274
Manu Uttama, 274
Manu Vaivasvata, 273-4, 275-6
Maori culture, 213
Maiathas, 102, 106
Marichis, 280

Marriage, in Brahmanas, 456-8
k&'Jjtigveda, 392-4
in Sutras, 516-9 ft,

Marshall, Sir John, 69. 71, 74, 197-8. 207
Mirt&nd, 73

Marudvjidha, river, 247
Maras, 256
Marusihala, 256
Maruts, 373-5
Marutta, 291, 296
Maruwardwan, river, 247
M&ski, 76
Al Mas’udi, 61
Matarisvan, 366
Mathura, 73, 311, 329
Matsya(s), 258, 307, 311-2
Mattiuaza, 206
Maury® empire, 103
Maya, 353, 384, 500
Mayna. 115-6
Mayurbhanj, 131

Measurement Systems, Indus Valley,
181

Media, 210

Medicine, in Brahmanas, 463
in Indus Valley culture, 181
in Sutras, 528
ha Vedic age, 398
Mediterranean race, 144-6, 157 If.
Megalithic burials, S. India, 77
remains, 141
Megasthenes, 60
Meghna, river, 96
Menatnu, river, 247
Mehi, 199

Mekran, submergence, 90
Melanesians, 144, 150
Menhirs, 165
Merutuhiga, 51

Mesolithic man, remains, 134-5 ft.
Mesopotamia, 156, 193-6
Metal ware, in Sutras, 531
working, in J-tigveda, 401
Metals, introduction of, 138
Metempsychosis, in Brahmanas, 450
Meyer, Eduard, 209-11, 222, 254
Micoquian industry, 134
Microliths, 134
Mihintale, 78
- Milk products, 461
Millet, 112
great, 108

MIm&msa philosophy, 231

Minh&j-ud-din, 63

Mirpur KJbas, 72

Mitanni, 208

Mithila, 279, 331

Mifcra, Dr. Eajendra Lai, 68

Mitra (Mithra), 225, 366, 370

Mitra rulers (Panchala), 58

Mitrasaha, 293

Mitrayu, 311 N

Mlechchhas, 265, 318

Mohenjo-daro, 59, 71, 137, 158. 160,

165, 172 if.
age of culture, 195-6
arts and crafts, 183-9
buildings, 173-5
economic life, 182
funerary customs, 192-3
population, 175
religion, 189-92
social life, 175-83
Mohra Moradu, 70
Moller, 216
Molluscs, 120
Monarchy, 355-6, 389
Moneylending, 465, 497
Mongoloids, 144-5, 170
Monism, 382
Monitor lizard, 118
Monkey-god, 166
Monkeys, 114
Mon-Khmers, 150
speech, 151
Monotheism, 382, 448
Monsoon forests, 110
! Moorhen, 117

Morality, in Brahmanas, 449
in Sutras. 510, 524
Mother Goddess, 160
in Indus Valley culture, 189-90, 198
Motichandra, 264
Mountain forests, 110
Mouse-deer, 115
Muchipas, 265
Muchukunda, 282
Mud Skippers, 120
Mudgala, 297, 311-3
Muhammad Qasim Firishta, 63
Muhammad Tughluq, 64
Muir, J., 248, 391
; Mujavant, 245, 263
hills, 221

Mul Dwaraka, 75
Mula Pass, 93
Mulaka, 293

Muller, F. Max, 205, 213, 247-8, 479
Mullet, 119

564

INDEX

Multan, 220

Muntfa speech-family, 147, 151-5
Mundas, 147, 150
Muhgi, 131
Munia, 116

Muntakhab-ut-l'&warikh, 63
Murshidabad, 95
Murukan, 165
Mushika, 265

Music, in Brahma$As, 460
in Sutras, 525
in Vedic age, 395
Musk-deer, 115
Mustard, 112
Mutibas, 265, 266, 318
Mycenaean artifacts, 168
Greece, 212

Mysore, archaeological sites, 76
plateau, 97

Myths, pre-Aryan, 168-9
proto-Australoids and, 154
in Rigveda, 364

Nabhagas, 276
Nabhagodishta, 276
Nabhanedishtha, 276, 279, 439
Nachiketas, 475, 501
Naga hills, 91
worship, 192
Nagar, 75

Nagarjunikonda, 76

Nagas, 144-5, 148, 282, 291, 318, 324, 332

Nagas5hvaya, 256

Nahusha. 277-8, 310

Naimisha forest, 256

Nakula, 300, 304

Nalandja, 70

Names, brought from Iran, 223
Nanda Devi, 91
Nandas, 323
Nandikanama pass, 133
Nandu, 119

Nandur Madhmeshwar, 131
Nanga Parbat, 91
Narlkavacha, 293
Narishyanta (son of Manu), 276
Narishyanta (son of Marutta), 296
Narmada, river, 75, 84, 96, 98, 99, 99,
255, 281; valley, palaeolithic man in,
128

Narsinghpur, 130
Nasatyas, 226
Nava, 283
Navarashfra, 283

Navasahasahka-charita, 49
Navigation, in Rigveda, 248
Nayachandra, 49
Negrais, Cape, 92
Negritos, 144-5, 148-9
language survivals, 149
Nehring, 214, 216
Nellore, 132, 134
Neolithic man, remains, 137 if.

Nepal. 51, 92, 146, 170
Nepali, 170
Nereis, 121
New Guinea, 148
New Zealand, 213
Newars, 170
Nichakshu, 325

NIchyas, 262
Nicobar ese, 150
Nidaghatta, 132
Nightjar, 116
Nila, 50, 296, 306
Nilapurana, 50
Nile Valley, 130
Nilgai, 115

Nilgiris, 82, 96, 98, 102
Nimi, 279-80
Nimsar, 256
Ninniyur, 132
Nirukta-Vedanga, 482
Nishada(s), 156, 159, 262, 265-6, 306, 317
Nishadhas, 262
Nishka, 397, 399, 465
Nizam-ud-dln Ahmad, 63
Nordics. 144-6, 215
North-West Frontier Province,
archaeological sites, 72
Nriga, 283
Nushki desert, 89
Nyamti, 132 *

Occupations, in Brahma$as, 466-7
in Rigveda, 400-1
Ocean, in Brahmftnas, 465
in post-Rigvedic period, 255
in Rigveda, 248, . 400
Officers, royal, 360, 435-6, 491
Oil seeds, 112

Oidenberg, H., 210, 232, 236, 250, 260

Oostapalli, 133

Opium poppy, 113

Optimism, in Rigveda, 386

Oraons, 147, 154, 157

Ordeals, 360. 438, 440

Oriole, Golden, 116

Orissa, 74

palaeolithic man, 131
Orissa hills, 97, 102
Ornaments, in Brahmapas, 463
in Indus Valley culture, 178
in Vedic age, 397
Orsang, river, 84, 130
Owls, 117

Oxus, river, 222, 248
Oysters, 120

Padam-Pawaya, 74
Padas, 338
Padrna, river, 95
Padmagupta, 49
-Padmavati, 74
Pagan, 77
Paharpur, 74
Pahlavas, 318
Paifhan, 75
Paka offerings, 504
Pakthas, 249, 251

Palaeolithic man, remains, 84, 125 ff.

Palaeo-Mediterraneans, 144-5

Palas, 59

Palayans, 145

Palgnat gap, 98

Palk Strait, 98

Palms, 110

Paloncha, 131

Pamirs, 91, 209-10, 222

Panchajan&fr, 251, 359

565

THE VEDIC AGE

Panchajanas, 310

Panchala(s), 58, 150-1, 257, 266, 297-8,
306, 311, 323, 329, 431
origin of name, 297
Panchamarhi, 135
Panchanad, see Five Rivers
Panchavimsa Brahmana, 324
Pandavas, 300, 304 ff.

Pandu(s), 300, 308
Pandya, 102, 317
Pangolin, 115,

Pariini, 308, 317, 409, 420-2, 481-2, 530-1

Panipat, 101

Pa$is, 252-3

Pan j kora, river, 146

Pantheism, in Upanishads, 502

Panther, 114

Paradas, 318

Paranjaya, 279

Par a snath, 82

Parasurama. 274, 284-6, 289, 293, 316
Paravatas, 252

Pargiter, F. E., 48, 166, 255, 260, 271
273, 279, 309, 311, 313, 315
Parichakra, 255, 329

PsriHacniir 7^

Parlkshit. 273, 299, 308, 315, 323-4, 419
Parishad, 489
Parisishtas, 481
Parjanya, 366, 376
hymns to, 348
Parnakas, 253
Parrots, ,116
Parsis, 146
Pars us, 252
Parthians, coins, 58
Partridge, 117
Parashni, river, see Ravi
Pastimes, Indus Valley culture, 180
Pataliputra, 69, 199, 328
Patan, 75

Patanjali, 214, 237, 258, 410, 482

Paterson, T. T., 133

Patkoi hills, 91

Patna, see Pataliputra

Pauravas, 278, 281-2, 299-301, 323-5

Peafowl, 117

Pearl fishing, 120

Ppn<5 112

Pebble tools, 126 ff.

Pedhamli, 129
Pegu, 77
Pelican, 117
Penka, 205, 206, 213
Perch, 119

Periano Ghundal, 199
Peripatus, 121

Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, 60
Personification, 364, 379
Perumbair, 141
Perungulam, 141
Peshawar, 93
museum, 72

Phallic worship, in Indus Valley
culture, 191
Philippines, 148

Philosophy, in Atharvaveda, 443-4
in Upanishads, 473-4
Phonetics, 337 ff., 477-8
Phudera, 129

Pigeons, 117

Piggott, Stuart, 139, 140
Pig-sticking, 115
Pijavana, 312
Pilgrim, 85

Pillars, Asokan, 52-3, 66-7
Plngala, 482
Pipal tree, 113, 190, 192
Piprahwa relic, 172
Pir Panjel range, 126
Pisachas, 254, 280
Plaksha Prasravana, 255
Plantation crops, 113
Plants, flowering,. 109
Plateau, Indian, 96-9
Pleistocene period, 81 ff.

Pliny, 61
Pochard, 117
Pokorny, 214
Polo, Marco, 64
Polonnaruwa, 78
Polygamy, 393, 517
Polynesians, 150
Pomfret, 119

Pondicherry, peat deposits, 89
Potali, 331

Pottery, classification, 73
Indus Valley culture, 186
introduction, 150
Potwar, river, 87, 127
Prabhakara, 281
Prabandha-Chintamani, 51
Prabandha-kosa, 51
Prachinagarbha, 275
Pradhan, Dr., 312
Pradyota, 328, 330
Pradyota Mahasena, 325
Pragjyotisha, 306

PrajaDati, 430, 433, 443, 447, 449, 451,
499

Prajya Bhatta, 51
Pramati, 296
Prana, 444, 499-500
Prasad, Beni, 430
Prasastis, 54
Prasenajit, 326-7
Pratardana, 289
Pratihara dynasty, 54, 59
Pratikas, 231
Pratlpa, 299
Pratisakhyas, 477
Pratishthiina, 75, 277, 278
Pratyagraha, 300
Pravahana, 473
Pravahana Jaivali, 324
Prayag, 87

Pre-Soan industry, 126
Prey, Birds of, 117
Priests, sacrificial, in Sutras, 507-8 ff.
Primitive tribes, surviving, 101
Prinsep. James, 53, 66-8
Prishadhra, 276
Prishata, 298-300
Prithi-Vainya, 464
Prithivi, 190, 366, 368, 379
Prithu (Manu), 275
Prithus, 252
Prithvlraja-charita, 49
I Prithvlraja-vijaya, 49

566

INDEX

Priyavrata, 274
Prome, 77

Property, law of, 438-9, 497

Proto-Australoids, 144-5, 149-56

Proto-Egyptians, 136

Protozoa, 121

Provinces, botanical, 109

Przyluski, J., 151, 155-6, 165

Ptolemy, 61

Pina, 163

Pulahas, 280

Pulakesin n, 54

Pulastyas, 280

Pulika, 327

Pulindas, 265, 266, 317-8
Pulses, 112
Punch, 125

Pundra(s), 266, 283, 288
Pundravardhana, 74
Punishments, 360, 437-8, 479, 494-5
and caste, 515
Punjab, archaeology in, 71
early man in, 125 ff.
microlithic culture, 135
plain, 95, 98
province, 102
rivers, 86-7, 94-5
Pur, 359, 402

Pura^as, 48-9, 154, 168, 271 ff.

historicity, 308 ff.

Purohita, 357, 435-7, 456, 488-9, 508

Pur os, 265

Puru, 278, 310-1

Purukutsa, 250, 281, 311, 312

Pururavas, 276, 277, 320, 349

Purus, 249-50, 256

Purusha, 384, 388

Pushan, 366, 370, 402

Pushkalavata, 69

Pushkara, 295

Python, 118

Pyu, 78

Quail, 117

Quartzite implements, 125 ff.

Race, and language, 205-6
classification of Indian peoples, 143 ff.
Racial types, Mohenjo-daro, 176
Racing, 396, 461
Raghu, 293
Rahula, 326
Raikva, 473
Rainfall, 108
Rairh, 75

Rajagriha, 71, 327, 328, 332
Rajaputra, 432
Rajas, 355
Rajasekhara, 51

Rajasuya sacrifice, 430-1, 434-7, 447

Rajatarahgini, 49-51

Rajendra Chola, 104

Raj ghat, 73

Rajgir, 69, 71, 327

Rajmahal hills, 98

Rajmahal Hill trikes, 145

Rajput chronicles, 63

Rajputana, 64, 98, 102
archaeological sites, 75
megalithic monuments, 140
palaeolithic man, 129
desert, 87, 93
Rajputs, 102, 106
Rakshas, 254
Rakshasas, 294, 317, 319
Ralluvagu, 133

Rama. 274, 294-5, 298, 316, 319
legend, 168
Parasurama, 284-5
Rama-charita, 49
Ramapala, 49

Ramayana, 49, 114, 272, 285, 294
Ranchi, 140
Ranha, river, 222
Rape, 112
Rapti, river 255
Rasa, river, 247
Rashtrakutas, 59
Ras-Mala, 51
Rathltaras, 276
Ratnins, 436
.Ravana, 286-7, 295
Ravi, river, 87, 95, 247, 311-2
Rawalpindi district, 125
Rayachoti, 132

Raychaudnuri, H. C., 264, 314, 327, 330
Rea, 141

Rebirth, doctrine of, 385-6
Red hair, 214

Regions, geographical, 100 ff.

Regur soil, 108

Religion, Dravidian influence, 163-8
Indo-Iranian, 223
in Indus Valley culture, 189-92
Vedic, 162-3
Renou, 226
Reptiles, 118
Republics, 355
Reva, river, 255
Revottaras, 255
Rewah, 131
Rhinoceros, 114
Rice, 112, 153, 221
Richika, 284, 289

fcigveda, 159, 165, 166, 190-1, 197, 207-8,
221, 223, 229-34, 316, 355 ff., 430 ff.
classification of hymns, 344 ff.
geographical names, 245-8
historical value, 309-10 ff.
language, 337 ff.
place of composition, 248
tribes in, 249-54
Rijrasva, 387
Riksha, 296
Ripufijaya, 327, 328
PGiishis, 319

Rlsley, Sir Herbert^ 143.

Rita, 369, <382, 385
Ritual, Aryan and Dravidian, 163-4
Ritudhvaja, see Vatsa
Rituparna, 293
River worship, 192
Rivers, in post-Rigvedic period, 255
in Vedic texts, 24.5-8
of North Indian plains, 83
of North India, changes in, 86-7

567

THE VEDIC AGE :

Robin, 116
Rodents, 115
Rohita, 290
Rohtas, $9

Rokytnb swamps, 215
Roller, 116

Rome, contacts with, 75, 76
ROodrar, 133
Hoot crops, 113
Roppa, 135

Roth, 246-7, 252, 280, 263
Rubber, 113

Rudra, 165, 207, 366, 367, 376, 443, 447-8
Rupa, 353
Rupar, 72

Russia, South, as home of Indo-
Europeans, 214, 216

Sabarae, 265
gabaras, 265, 266, 318
Sabarmati, 132
river, 84, 99
valley, 75, 129
Sabha, 356-7, 433, 488
Sacrifice, in Rigveda, 3&Q-1
in Samaveda and Yajurveda, 445-6
in Sutras, 503
Sadanira, river, 255
Sadiya, 95

Safed Koh mountains, 91
Sagara, 283, 288, 290-1, 316
of Ayodhya, 274
Sagileru, river, 133

Sahadeva, 298, 300-1, 304-7, 311, 327
Sahasrajit. 278
Sahet Mahet, 69, 326
Sahr-i-Bahlol, *72
St. Martin, 246

gakala recension of Rigveda, 230-1

gakalya, 231

gakas, 58, 276, 318

Saketa, 326

gakti, 289

gakuni, 306-7

Sakuntala, 289

gakya, 326

Salamander, 119

galmali, 113

Salsette Island, 131

Salt, 221

galva(s), 258, 306
galya, 306-7
Samans, 503

Samaveda, 229, 234-5, 460
• language, 407-8
religion in, 445-6
Sambhar, 75
Samgrahltfi, 436
Samhita, 221

Smhitas, see Vedas, Atharvaveda,
Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda
Samiti, 357-8, 433, 488
Samnyasin, 498
Samrat, 356
Sam sara, 451
Samudra-gupta, 54, 104
Samvarana, 299, 311-3
Sandhi, 68, 69, 74
inscriptions, 67

gandilya, 239
Sannati, 297

Sanskrit, 107, 144, 205-6
of Sutras, 484-5
of Upanishads, 483-4
Vedic, 337 ff.

Santals, 160

Santanu, 299, 491

Sapta-Sindhu, 220

Saptasindhavah, 247-8

Sarasvai, river, 75, 87, 246, 247, 255 ; 266

Saraswati, 95*

Sarayu, river, 246
Sarju, river, 246
Sarsuti, river 246
Samath, 60, 68, 69
Sarpasatra, 324, 332-3
garyatas, 276, 278-80, 287
garyati, 276, 280
gasabindu, 278, 281-2
Sassetti, Filippo, 205
Sastri, Banerji, 254
gatanika, 324-5, 330, 332-3
gatapatha Brahmana' 313, 317, 430-4r
436, 440, 473, 501; see also
Brikhmanas

Safcavahana period, 75, 76

Satavahanas, 58

Salem -centum split, 211

Safi, 393, 458, 518

Satpura mountains, 96

Satrajit, 301

gatrughna, 294-5

Sattras, 507

Satvants, 261, 266

Satyakama Jabala, 473, 519

Satyaki, 306-7

Satyavafi, 284, 289

Satyavrata-Trisanku, 290

Saudyumnas, 276, 283

Saudyumni, see Yuvanasva II

Saugor, 131

gaunaka, 478

Sauras, 265

Sauviras, 283

Savaralu, 265

Savaris, 265

Savitri, 365-6, 370

Scandinavia, 213

Schleicher, 212

Schmidt, W., 150. 155, 212

Schools, Vedic, 460

Schrader, 217

Schroder, F. R, 214, 408-9
Script, Indus Valley, 193-4
Scythians, coins, 58
Sea, see Ocean
Sea squirt, 120

Seals, from Mohenjo-daro, 59, 158, 183.
186-8

Seaports, 104
Segmented animals, 121
Seleucus, 60
Semasiology, 215
Semitic languages, 216
Senajit, 325, 327
Senani, 359-60, 435-6
Sesamum, 112
Shadahradvana, 72

568

INDEX

Shahabad pass, 99
Shahi Tump, 199
Shama, 116

Shams-i-Siraj ’Afif, 63
Shark, 119

Shell, use in Indus Valley culture, 189
Shillong, 92
Shubbiluliuma, 208
Siam, 78

6ibi(s), 258, 283, 306
gihipura, 258
Siddhartka, 326
Side-scraper, 127
Sigrus, 249, 251
&ikhandin, 307
Sikhs, 106
Sikra, 117
Sikkim, 145
iSiksha, 477-8
Sil, river, 128
Silajit, 181
Silk, 527

Silver, use in Indus Valley culture, 188
Simyus, 253

Sind, 51, 62, 71, 95, 102
archaeological sites, 71
and Indus Valley culture, 199
Sindhu, river, 246-7
Sindhu-Sauvira, 306
Sindree, 90
Singhbhum, 139

Sino-Tibetan speech family, 147, 170
Stradhvaja, 295
Sirkap, 70
Sisunaga, 328
Sisupala, 305
Slta, 294-5
Siva, 448
cult of, 161, 165
Dravidian elements, 163-6
in Indus Valley culture,. 191, 197, 201,
207

Nataraja, 184
Sivapura, 258
Sivas, 249, 251, 311
Sivis, 311
Siwalik age, 85
hills, 125
river, 86-7
Skarda, 94
Sky Father, 160
Slavery, 358, 402
Smarta, 446
Smith, 2a
Snails, 120
Snake bird, 117
Snakes, 118
Snataka, 522-3
Snipe, 117
Scan river 87
industries, 126-8, 130
valley, 72, 82, 84
Soil, varieties, 108

Solar dynasty, 278-9, 281-2, 290-1, 304;

see also Aikshvaka, Ikshvaku
Soma, 221, 225, 366, 367, 378, 396, 462
Soroadatta-Sudasa, 297, 311
Somadhi, 327
Somaka, 298, 311

Somes vara^ 51
Son, river, 95
Spices, 113
Spirantization, 337
Sponges, 121
Spoonbill, 117
Spooner, Dr., 69
draddha, 449
Sraddhakalpas, 479
Srauta, 446

Srauts-sutras, 229, 239-40, 478-81,

502 ff.

Sravasta, 279
SravastI, 69, 73, 279, 326
Sri, Dravidian element, 164-5
dri-Parvata, 76
Srivera, 51

Sri-Vijaya kingdom, 78
Srinjaya(s), 250, 257, 311-2, 433
Sritayu, 306

State, in Dharmasutras, 488
State papers, 65
Statuary, Indus Valley, 184
Steatite, 186

Stein, Sir Aurel, 69, 72, 75, 77, 199, 200,
247

Sthapati, 436, 493
Stork, 117
Stri-achara, 167
Students, Vedic life, 520-3
Su&ri, 265
Subahu, 295, 297
Sucker fish, 119
Sudakshina, 306
Sudas, 249, 293, 310, 355
Sudas Paijavana, 311-2
Sudasa, 293, 299, 211-3
Suddhodana, 326
Sudeva, 282
Sudhanvan, 295, 299
Sudras, 390, 454-5
in Sutras, 513-4
Sugar-cane, 112
Sugriva, 295
Suhma, 283, 288
&uka, 51

Sukrita-klrti-kallolinl, 51
Sukrita-samkirtana, 51
Sulaiman, 61
mountains, 91
Sulva-sutras, 480
Sumati, 296

Sumer, Indus Valley culture and, 182,
186, 194, 200
Sumerian language, 155
Sumerians, and Indus Valley culture,
197

Sunabsepa, 289, 453, 490, 512
Sunda volcano chain, 89
S underbans. 111
Suhga pottery, 73
Sur Jangal, 199
Sura, 287

Sura, 397, 462, 526

Surasena(s), 287, 306, 311, 323, 329

Surashtra, 102

Suratha, 299

Surma valley, 92

Surparaka, 287, 316

569

THE VEDIC AGE

Surya, 366, 370
Susa, 180, 182
Susanna, 306
Susartu, river, 247
Sushoma, river, 247
Suta, 436
Sutas, 271, 309
Sutlej, river, 87, 95, 246
Sutras, 229, 239-41, 476 If.
language of, 484-5
religion in, 502 ff.

Sutudri, river, see Sutlej
Suvarnagiri, 103
Suvastu, river, 247
Suvrata, 283

Svastika, in Indus Valley culture, 186,
192

Svetaketu (son of Uddalaka), 330
SvetiiWctii Aruneya, 519
Svetasvatara Upanishad, 500
Sveiya, river, 247
Swallow, 116
Swat, river, 93, 146, 247
Swift, 116

Swords, Bronze Age, 139
Sylhet, 90
Syria, 209

Tabaqat-i-Nasirl, 63
Taboo, 153
Tailor bird, 116

Taittirlya-Brahjmana. 235, 430, 433, 435

Taittiriya Upanishad, 501, 519

Takht-i-Bahi, 72

Takman, 418, 463

Taksha, 295

Takshaka, 324

Takshasila, 324; see also Taxila
Talajanghas, 287 ’

Tamil, 145-6, 158, 161 If.

script, 53
Tamraparni, 141
Tan^ya Brahmans, 432
Tanjore, 132
Tanning, 401
Tapti, river, 84, 96, 99
Tardenoisian industry, 134
Ta’rikh-i-Flruz Shahi, 63
Tata, Sir Katan, 69
Tawi, river, 126
Taxation, 358, 437, 488, 491-2
Taxila, 60, 68-70, 72, 103, 262
Tea, 113

Teachers, Vedic, 523
Teliagarhi, 99, 102
Tell Agrab, 195
Tell Asmar, 185, 195
Tell el-Amarna, 209
Telugu, 146, 157, 181 If.

script, 53
Temperature, 108
Temple, Vedic, 505
Terai, Nepalese, 92
Teshup, 161
Tethys sea; 86

Textiles, in Indus Valley culture, 185
Thar desert, 95, 98, 101
Theft, 494

Theoi Apopompaioi, 207

Thomson, 109
Thrushes, 116
Tibet, 94, 169
. Tibetans, 169

Tibeto-Chinese speech family, 147
Tibeto-Mongoloias, 144-5
Tiger, 114, 221
Tilak, 373

Timber types, 109-10
Tinnevelly, 132
coast, submerged land, 90
Tirhut, 259,

Titikshu, 283. 288
Toads, 118
Tobacco, 113
Tocharian, 211
Tocharians, proto-, 222
Tochl, river. 93
Todd, 131

Toilet, in Sutras, 528

Tools, in Indus Valley culture, 182

Tortoises, 118

Totemism, 150, 380

Toys, in Indus Valley culture, 180, 186
Trade, in Brahmanas, 465
in ancient India, 104
in Rigvedic age, 400
in Sutras, 530
Transmigration, 153, 500
Transport, in Bramanas, 467
in Rigvedic age, 402
in Sutras, 531
Trap, 108

Trasadasyu, 250, 430
Trayyaruna, 290
Tree snake, 118
worship, 192
Trees, 109-11
Tribal organization, 359
Tribes, in post-Rigvedic period, 256-66
in Rigveda, 249-54
Tribute, 358, 437
Trichinopoly, 132
Trigarta, 306
Trikakud, 255
Trikota. 255
Trinabindu, 396
Tripoli e pottery, 214
Trisahku, 289-90
Trita age, 316

Tritsus, 249-51, 257, 310, 312
Triveda, D.S., 220
Tsan-po, river, 95
Tungabhadra, river, 84, 97
Tunny, 119

Tura Kavasheya. 312, 314
Turkestan, Russian, 210
Chinese, 77
Turks, Ghaznavid, 62
Turtles, 118

Turvas(s), 249-51, 256, 310-2
Turvasu(s). 278, 310-1, 318
Tvashtri. 366
Typhlops, 118

Uchali. 135
Uchathya, 291
Udayana, 325
Udayaprabha, 51

INDEX

Udayin, 328
Uddilaka Aruni, 474
Udgatri, 446
Ugrasena, 301
Ugrasena Janaka, 324, 330
Ugrayudha, 298-9
Ujjain, 74, 329
Ujjayinl, see Ujjain
Ukraine, 216

Uma, Dravidian element, 164-5
United Provinces, 102
archaeological sites, 73
Unity of India, 100
Universal monarch, 356
Untouchability, 456

Upanayana, 225, 394, 459, 513-4, 520, 523
Upanishads, 448, 451, 471 ff.
language, 483-4
philosophy of, 498 ff.

Upaplavya, 306
Ur, 178, 182, 188, 195
Ural-Altaic speech family, 157
UrvasI, 349
Ushas, 366, 372
hymns to, 346
Ushkar, 73
Usija Arigiras, 291
Usinara(s), 252, 258-9, 266, 283
Uttanapada, 274
Uttar a Panchala, 329
Utt&rakurus, 262, 266
Uttaramadras, 262, 266

Vadamadurai, 133-4
Vadhryasva, 297, 311
Vagadnas, 261
Vahlika, 306
Vahvl-Datiya, river, 222
Vaigai, river, 132
Vairadeya, 438, 493, 495
Vaisalas, 276, 279
Vaisali, 69, 276, 288, 291, 296
Vaisampayana, 314, 324, 330
Vaisyas, in Bramanas. 454-5
Vaisyas, in Sutras, 513-4
Vajapeya, 447, 461
Vajjis, 331
Vaira. 308

Valakhilya recension of Ijjtfgveda, 230
Valakhilyas, 280
Valin, 295
Vallam, 132
Valmlki, 298
Variisavalis, 51
Vanaprastha, 498
Vanaras, 295, 317, 319
Vahga(s), 102, 261, 283, 288, 306, 317
Variihamihira, 272
Varanasi, 73, 290, 328
Varanus, 118
Vamas, see Caste
Varuna, 224-5, 367, 368-9
hymns to, 347
Varanapraghasa, 457
Vasanta-vilasa, 51
Vasas, 258, 266
Vasish*ha(s), 249, 280, 289

Vastupala-Tejahpala-prasasti, 51

Vasu, 300

Vasu Chaidyoparichara, 314
Vasudeva, 301
Vasudeva, see Krishna
Vatsa(s), 289-90, 294, 297, 306, 325, 440,
457

Vatsabhumi, 325
Vatsapri, 280
Vayu-Vata, 366, 376
Vedahga, 476, 520
Vedanta, 353, 424, 471
Vedas, 225-6, 229 ff.

historicity, 308 ff.

Vena, 275
Verse-makers, 338
Vichitravlrya, 300
Vidarbha, 261, 288, 306, 318
Videgha Mathava, 317
Videghas, 265

Videha(s), 259, 266, 279, 295, 306, 317,
326-7

Vidisa, 74, 288
Vijayanagar, 64
Vijayasena, 54
Vijnot, 199
Vikramaditya, 49
Vikramanka-deva-charita, 49
Vikukshi, 279
Village, in ^Ligveda, 402
in Sutras, 492
Vinasana, 255
Vinda, 306, 330

Vindhya mountains, 96, 98, 255, 318
Vipas, river, see Beas
Vipers, 118

Viraj, see Manu Svayambhuva
Virampattanam, 76
Virata, 306, 307
Vis, 359
Visala, 280, 296
Visala, 280, 296
Vishnu, 366, 371, 448
Dravidian elements, 164-5
Vishanins/ 249, 251
Visvakarman, 365, 383
Visvamitra(s), 249, 274, 281, 294, 348-9
Visvamitra (son of Gadhi), 289-90
Vltahavyab(s), 258, 266
Vitasta, river, see Jhelum
Vitatha, 292, 296
Vltihotras, 287, 323, 330
Vogel, Dr., 69
Volcanoes, 89
Vratyas, 261
Vrichlvants, 251
Vpiddha-Garga, 272*

Vpshadarbhas, 283
Vrishni(s), 302, 306
Vritra, 373-4
Vulture% 117
Vyakara^a-Veda^ga, 481
Vyasa, 307

Wackemagel, 340
Warblers, 116

Warfare, methods of, 358-9, 492
Warsora, 129
Water cock, 117
Waters, the, and Varupa, 369

571

THE VEDIC AGE

Weapons, 358

In Indus Valley culture, 182
Weaver bird, 116

Weber, A., 153, 248, 252, 255, 257-9, 263.
285, 373

Weights.* in Br&hmapas, 465
in Indus Valley culture, 180
Wells, in Hlgvedk age, 403
Wergeki, 438, 493, 495
Western Brachycephals, 145
Western Satraps, 58
Whale, 115
Wheat, 108, 112, 464
Whitney, 247, 260
Wintemitz, 239, 443
Women, in Br&hmapas, 424, 439, 456-8
in Bigveda, 392-4
in Sutras, 516
Woodpecker, 116
Worms, 121

Writing, in Vedie age, 393, 460
Xerxes, 224

Ykdava(s), 276, 281-2, 288-90, 297,
300-1, 301-3, 306-7, 311, 319
Yadu(s), 249, 251, 256, 276, 300, 310, 320

Yajnavalkya, 330, 520
Yajfiavalkya Vajasaneya, 239
Yajurveda, 229, 235-6
contents, 419
language, .406-9
religion in; 445-6
Yakshus, 249, 251

Y ale- Cambridge Expedition, 125, 130

Yama, 226, 366, 384

Yamuna, river, 246

Yaska, 231, 247, 264, 312, 344 ft, 481-2

Ya&ovarman, 49

Yagts, 227

Yaudheyas, 58, 283

Yavanas, 318

Yayati, .274 278, 311

Yerra-konda-Padem, 133

Yoga, 160, 162

Yoni, in Indus Valley culture, 191
Yudhiahthira, 273, 300, 304 ft
Yuvana6va H, 279, 283, 311
Yuyudhana, 306

Zain ul~ Abidin, 51
Zarathus&ra, 224-7. 364
Zimmer, H., 245-8, 250-3, 259, 262-3
Ziya-ud-dln Baranl, @3
Zoomorphic gods, 166-7

572

VOLUME I : THE VEDIC AGE

"This history unlike its predecessors is first and foremost a history of India and of her people
rather than a history of those who have from time to time invaded her.,.. The standard, in a word, is
very high...." The Times Literary Supplement, London

"....Distinguished historians contribute and they are not only learned but also very readable ....
It contains much new information...." The Manchester Guardian, Manchester

VOLUME II : THE AGE OF IMPERIAL UNITY

"....It is safe to say that these volumes will transform the study of Indian history in our times;
their authors are not only writing history, they themselves are making history, a whole new history
of knowledge and education...." The Illustrated Weekly of India, Bombay

VOLUME HI : THE CLASSICAL AGE

"....It maintains the leading trait of the series viz. to devote more attention to the social and
cultural aspects of the story than to the purely political side, and the narrative of dynastic struggles
and wars.... The political history is generally complete and up-to-date and a great amount of
authentic information on social and economic history has been culled and presented systematically
for the first time...." K. A. Nilakanta Sastri in Journal of Indian History

VOLUME IV : THE AGE OF IMPERIAL KANAUJ

"....This is a magnificent piece of exact and unbiased scholarship.... Its pages are alive with the
spirit of the modern Indian Renaissance; freedom has animated Indian learning and this is one of its
finest achievements. ...this new Indian history is not concerned merely, or even mainly, with war and
politics. Two thirds of the book deal with cultural and social matters...." The Statesman, Calcutta

VOLUME V : THE STRUGGLE FOR EMPIRE

"....Like all the preceding volumes its treatment.... is detailed and comprehensive and is based
upon the highest standards of scholarship. The contributors .... have made the best use of all the
available source material and the important previous works on the subject.. ..From every point of
view it will be accepted as the standard and authoritative work on the history of India in the age of
transition from ancient to medieval times...." The Hindustan Times, New Delhi

VOLUME VI : THE DELHI SULTANATE

"....Voluminous publication. ...piecing together all relevant material.... easily stands out as one
of the most outstanding and comprehensive treatises so far brought out on this period of Indian
history.... surpasses them all.. ..being written.... from an entirely new angle of vision. ...is indeed a
significant contribution.... this comprehensive and detailed work is really a very valuable addition to
the existing literature on the subject...." The Pioneer, Lucknow

VOLUME VII : THE MUGHUL EMPIRE

"....A comprehensive and balanced history of a momentous period; an exacting task ably
fulfilled.... A notable volume in a notable series, the work is a finely integrated and well brought-out
history of a remarkable time...." Nagpur Times, Nagpur

VOLUME VIII : THE MARATHA SUPREMACY

"....The editors have done a commendable job in bringing out this volume in which the
political history of the period has been dealt with in a scholarly manner...."

The National Herald, New Delhi

VOLUME IX : BRITISH PARAMOUNTCY AND
INDIAN RENAISSANCE, PART I

"....The volume is an exhaustive study of the British rule.. ..Its impact on the cultural, social
and educational life in the country.. ..This is an important publication for students of Indian
history...." The Hitavada, Nagpur

\ VOLUME X : BRITISH PARAMOUNTCY AND
INDIAN RENAISSANCE, PART II

"....This volume, like its predecessors, is a mine of information and brings to light numerous
significant facts and developments in the last century... .It maintains the high standards set by the
earlier volumes...." Sunday Standard, Bombay

VOLUME XI : STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM

"....The present volume covers the momentous period 1905-1947. It gives a detailed account
not only of political developments, but also of such other essential topics as administration,
education, art and literature...."

"Unique in the annals of modern Indian scholarship...." Sunday Standard, Bombay

1 900/™

ISBN 978-81-7276-519-4

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